Table 3.
Comparison with muscle biomechanical data from extant Sauropsida (Aves and nonavian)
| Group | Common name | Species | Muscle (type) | Mass (g) | Vmax (s-1) | σ (kPa) | Temp (°C) | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birds | King quail | Coturnix chinensis | Pectoralis (F) | 45.7 | 26.00 | 130.9 | 40 | Askew and Marsh (2001) |
| Japanese quail | Coturnix coturnix | Anterior latissimus dorsi (F) | 100 | 2.6 | 111 | 25 | Alway (1994, 1995) | |
| European starling | Sturnus vulgaris | Pectoralis (F) | 71.5 | 22.3 | 122.7 | 40 | Biewener et al. (1992) | |
| Zebra finch | Taeniopygia guttata | Pectoralis (F) | 13.1 | 9.8 | 167 | 40 | Ellerby and Askew (2007) | |
| Budgerigar | Melopsittacus undulatus | Pectoralis (F) | 42 | 5.6 | 220 | 40 | ||
| Cockatiel | Nymphicus hollandicus | Pectoralis (F) | 91.8 | 21.2 | 215 | 40 | Morris and Askew (2010) | |
| Domestic chicken | Gallus gallus | Pectoralis (F), white | 1500 | 4.66 | 165 | 15 | Reiser et al. (1996) | |
| Pectoralis (F), red | 2.59 | 174 | ||||||
| Latissimus dorsi (F) | 0.45 | 126 | ||||||
| Wild turkey | Meleagris gallopavo | Gastrocnemius pars lateralis (T) | 4000 | 13 | 271 | 38 | Nelson et al. (2004) | |
| Fibularis longus (T) | 14.80 | 257 | ||||||
| Non-avian Sauropsida | Western fence lizard | S. occidentalis | Iliofibularis (T) | 13.7 | 21.9 | 187 | 35 | Marsh and Bennett (1986) |
| Desert iguana | D. dorsalis | Iliofibularis (T) FG, FOG, slow | 55.8 | 7.5, 4.4, and 1.5 | 279 | 25 | Gleeson and Johnston (1987) | |
| Desert iguana | D. dorsalis | Iliofibularis (T) | 20 | 20 | 214 | 40 | Marsh (1988) | |
| Desert iguana | D. dorsalis | Iliofibularis (T) | 49.1 | n/a | 178 | 41 | Putnam and Bennett (1982) | |
| Gastrocnemius (T) | 262 | |||||||
| Laurent’s whiptail | Cnemidophorus murinus | Iliofibularis (T) | 58.4 | n/a | 137 | 40 | ||
| Gastrocnemius (T) | 182 | |||||||
| Western fence lizard | S. occidentalis | Iliofibularis (T) | 11.4 | n/a | 85 | 35 | ||
| Gastrocnemius (T) | 237 | |||||||
| Southern alligator lizard | Gerrhonotus mullicarinatus | Iliofibularis (T) | 25.4 | n/a | 135 | 28 | ||
| Gastrocnemius (T) | 237 | |||||||
| Bosc’s fringe-toed lizard | Acanthodactylus boskianus | Caudofemoralis longus (T) | 4.3 | ∼10 | n/a | 39 | Curtin et al. (2005) | |
| Egyptian agama | Trapelus pallida/mutabilis | Caudofemoralis longus (T) | 16.72 | n/a | 454 | 35 | Herrel et al. (2007) | |
| Ruthven’s anole | Anolis bonairensis | Ambiens pars ventralis (T) | 6 | 11.3 | 132 | 33.4 | Anderson and Roberts (2020) | |
| Green anole | Anolis carolinensis | Ambiens pars ventralis (T) | 6 | 6.0 | 179 | 28.2 | ||
| Crested anole | Anolis cristatellus | Ambiens pars ventralis (T) | 10 | 10.8 | 226 | 29.1 | ||
| Striped anole | Anolis lineatus | Ambiens pars ventralis (T) | 10 | 11.8 | 131 | 32.2 | ||
| Brown anole | Anolis sagrei | Ambiens pars ventralis (T) | 3 | 7.7 | 142 | 32 | ||
| Pale-rumped skink | Ctenotus regius | Iliofibularis fast (glycol, T) | 6.1 | 19.1 | 251 | 35 | John-Alder and Bennett (1987) | |
| Striped skink | Ctenotus robustus | Iliofibularis fast (glycol, T) | 13.1 | 20.1 | 223 | 35 | ||
| Copper-tailed skink | Ctenotus taeniolatus | Iliofibularis fast (glycol, T) | 6.0 | 19.7 | 215 | 35 | ||
| Spotted-back skink | Ctenotus uber | Iliofibularis fast (glycol, T) | 6.2 | 19.8 | 207 | 35 | ||
| Thick-tailed skink | Eremiascincus fisciolatus | Iliofibularis fast (glycol, T) | 16.0 | 16.2 | 238 | 25 | ||
| Alpine water skink | Sphenomorphus kosciuskoi | Iliofibularis fast (glycol, T) | 10.3 | 16.0 | 187 | 30 | ||
| Eastern water skink | Sphenomorphus/Eulamprus quoyi | Iliofibularis fast (glycol, T) | 26.9 | 18.2 | 264 | 30 | ||
| Southern water skink | Sphenomorphus/Eulamprus tympanum | Iliofibularis fast (glycol, T) | 17.9 | 16.2 | 193 | 30 | ||
| (Rock-outcrop specialist calango) | Tropidurus itambere | Iliofibularis | 8.0 | N/A | 165.8 | 35 | Kohlsdorf et al. (2004) | |
| (sand dune specialist calango) | Tropidurus psamonastes | Iliofibularis | 15 | N/A | 156.2 | 35 | ||
| (generalist calango) | Tropidurus oreadicus | Iliofibularis | 12 | N/A | 144.6 | 35 | ||
| (17 lacertid lizard species; mean ± SD) | Lacertidae spp. | Iliotibialis | 6.3 ± 4.4 | N/A | 322 ± 108 | 34 | James et al. (2015) | |
| Red-eared terrapin (slider) | Trachemys (Pseudemys) scripta elegans | Iliofibularis fast (glycol, T, S) | 305 | 5.5 | 184 | 15 | Mutungi and Johnston (1987) | |
| Iliofibularis fast (oxo, T, S) | 3.0 | 120.4 | – | |||||
| Iliofibularis slow (T, S) | 1.3 | 70.6 | – | |||||
| Saltwater crocodile | Crocodylus porosus | Caudofemoralis longus (T, S) | 727 | N/A | 230 | 30 | Seebacher and James (2008) |
Muscle types: T, terrestrial; F, flight; S, swimming. Mass (in g) refers to the body mass of the animal measured. Adapted from Table 1 in Medler (2002), with added data as referenced. Temp, temperature of experimental measurements. See Table 2 and Discussion for comparisons. “fast” or “slow,” and “glycol,” or “oxo” correspond to fast (F) or slow, glycolytic (G), and/or oxidative (O) fibers, when known. “N/A”, not available.