Date of Award
2006
Document Type
Thesis
Publication Status
Version of Record
Submission Date
October 2026
Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]
Wyneken, Jeanette
Abstract
There are no modem anatomical studies of flipper development or particularly any examining limb formation across distantly related taxa converging on similar flipper morphology. This study compares and contrasts the development of flippers in sea turtle (Caretta caretta) and penguin (Spheniscus demersus , Eudyptula minor) embryos. Embryos were fixed, cleared and stained for cartilage anlagen, and prepared as whole mounts. Skeletal elements forming the flipper and changes in their growth rates were described across developmental stages. Results suggest skeletal elements contribute differently to sea turtle and penguin flipper blades and there are significant differences in bone shape and growth patterns. Greater proportional increases in lengths and areas were found in sea turtles elements compared to penguins. Sea turtles appear to depend on a pathway resulting in elongation of distal elements to build a flipper, whereas penguin limbs undergo flattening and expansion of fewer elements to meet a similar structural goal.
Extent
62 p.
Recommended Citation
Kwong, Grace W., "Developmental Morphology of Flippers in Sea Turtles and Penguins" (2006). Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009. 1038.
https://digitalcommons.fau.edu/etd_general_5/1038
Identifier
FA00000784
Comments
Includes bibliography.|Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2006.|Charles E. Schmidt College of Science|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Includes bibliography.