Anderson, Jason S.Lennie, Kendra Ilana2020-01-302020-01-302020-01Lennie, K. I. (2020). A multimethod analysis to assess locomotor capabilities in stem tetrapods from Blue Beach (Tournaisian; Early Carboniferous), Nova Scotia (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.http://hdl.handle.net/1880/111587In vertebrate evolution the fin-to-limb transition was an important precursor to the diversification and radiation of terrestrial animals into novel environments. This transition began in the Devonian and continued through the Carboniferous and involved physiological and biomechanical changes. I used a multi-method approach to assess external and internal limb bone features to evaluate Early Carboniferous (Tournaisian) limb bones from Blue Beach and associated them with aquatic to terrestrial lifestyles. Tournaisian tetrapod material was collected at Blue Beach located near Hantsport, Nova Scotia, but much of it has not been formally described because the disarticulated and isolated tetrapod elements made identification to the species level difficult. In this thesis I described new morphotypes attributable to the family level which are used in the following chapters. Once the external morphology of the Blue Beach bones was described I compared them with the femora of extant aquatic, amphibious, and terrestrial tetrapods to evaluate which locomotor behaviour the fossil femora most resembled. I additionally examined cross-sectional bone profiles of Blue Beach tetrapod femora to infer lifestyle. Midshaft analyses relied on a single two-dimensional image to represent a dynamically structured bone so I also used a novel method for assessing three-dimensional trabecular data to qualitatively and quantitatively infer lifestyle from the Blue Beach femora. From the various analyses of internal and external bone morphology it was clear that external bone features of modern and early fossil tetrapod femora are dissimilar, which lead to difficulties in drawing conclusions based off external qualitative data. Internal data, from two-dimensional midshaft and three-dimensional trabecular structures, produced quantitative results that lead to the same conclusion, that the Blue Beach femora are consistent with those of aquatic animals. This implies that the initial diversification of the tetrapod body plans present in the Early Carboniferous was not the result of terrestrialization but appears to have preceded it.engUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.Fin-to-limbCarboniferousTetrapodEvolutionLocomotionAnatomyZoologyPaleontologyPaleozoologymaster thesis10.11575/PRISM/37531