Forelimb Posture During Walking of Leopard Geckos (Eublepharis macularius) using 3-D Optical Tracking: A Pilot Study on a Basal

Terrestrial Lizard
Bader, C., Barnes, C., Rodrigues, C., Shulman, J., Bonnan, M.F.

Introduction
Lizard locomotion is well-studied However, fewer studies focus on lizard forelimbs How do sprawling forelimbs move in 3-D? Goal: examine forelimb movements in a basal lizard clade

Why Leopard Geckos?

Leopard geckos are primitive lizards.

Source: Fry et al. 2006

Why Leopard Geckos?

Unlike most species of geckos, members of the genus Eublepharis lack setae, specialized scales on the bottom of their toes that allow surface adherence. Most terrestrial lizards also lack these scales.

Source: Kluge 1987

Hypothesis
During forelimb locomotion, the elbow of the leopard gecko, a basal terrestrial lizard, will remain significantly abducted e.g. Gray (1968). To quantify this, we assume that abduction angles of >45 are significant.

Our Test Subjects

3 male leopard geckos All experimental procedures approved by RSC IACUC Lizards were housed, fed, and watered according to IACUC husbandry procedures

Sunny

Ralph Conan

Materials and Methods

The OptiTrack V120 Trio system was used to record each geckos movements and quantify the X,Y, and Z coordinates of reflective beads. These coordinates are then exported to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and analyzed by Matlab. Mokka software was used to animate points.

Source: www.NaturalPoint.com Source: www.NaturalPoint.com

Challenges and caveats

Well known that skin markers slide in relation to their landmarks Our range of error is consistent with those of similar studies (Bauman and Chang, 2010) Therefore our results indicate relative changes in region rather than distinct movements Currently, given that geckos can be stubborn, we have 4 good footfalls

Hand First Touches Down

Hand About to Touch Down

Model in motion

2 4 3

Hand First Touches Down

Hand About to Touch Down

3
1 2

Hand First Touches Down

Hand About to Touch Down

Ventral view

Discussion
The elbow was found to be less abducted than hypothesized for roughly 75% of the step cycle. We reject our initial hypothesis that the elbow of the leopard gecko, a basal terrestrial lizard, will remain significantly abducted

Discussion
Our work supports previous trends reported for lizard forelimb movements (e.g., Jenkins and Goslow 1983) Elbow abduction during the support phase does drop below 45 but increases significantly during the swing phase More gecko data needed Will this trend continue across lizard phylogeny?

So, What Next?

Tracking forelimb posture on a more derived species, the Savannah Monitor.

Acknowledgments
Dr. Matthew Bonnan Dr. Jason Shulman Richard Stockton College IACUC John Rokita and animal staff at RSC Funding: RSC Research & Professional Development Grant to M. Bonnan RSC School of Natural Sciences & Mathematics (NAMS) Dean Dennis Weiss Other members of the BFF lab Special thanks to the organizers of NERVES

References

Pough, H.; Janis, C.; Heiser, J. 2009. Vertebrate Life: Eighth Edition, Pearson Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco, p. 330-339 http://www.naturalpoint.com/optitrack/products/v120-trio/ Fuller, P., Higham, T., Clark, A., 2011, Posture, speed, and habitat structure: three-dimensional hindlimb kinematics of two species of padless geckos, Zoology, v. 114, Issue 2, April 2011, p. 104-112 Kluge, A. 1987. Cladistic Relationships in the Gekkonoidea, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 64 p. Reilly, M., McElroy, E., Odum, R., Hornyak, V., 2006, Tuataras and salamanders show that walking and running mechanics are ancient features of tetrapod locomotion, Proc. R. Soc. B 2006 273, 1563-1568 Jenkins, F., Goslow, G. E., The Functional Anatomy of the Shoulder of the Savannah Monitor Lizard (Varanus exanthematicus), Journal of Morphology, 1983, 175:195-216 Bauman, J., Chang, Y., High speed X-ray video demonstrates significant skin movement errors with standard optical kinematics during rat locomotion, Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 2010, 186:18-24