Anne Kort: Mammals’ puzzling backbone
A curvy puzzle
U-M Assistant Professor Anne Kort’s PhD research focused on the unusual articulations—bony connectors that link vertebrae together in the spine—of the lumbar vertebrae of a prehistoric mammal named Patriofelis.
Among living mammals, s-shaped articulations like these are only found in hoofed mammals like giraffes and deer. Kort wondered why an ancient animal that looked more like a cat or dog would have them, given its very different body shape. Using 3D modeling, she found that they act sort of like a railroad track, allowing motion in just one direction.
To learn more about this research, watch the videos below
Meet the scientist
Anne Kort, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Michigan. She is also a Michigan Society of Fellows Postdoctoral Scholar.
Lumbar vertebrae
Dr. Kort researches the evolution and locomotion of lumbar vertebrae in four-footed mammals.
Elusive fossils
For her research, Dr. Kort needed to find lumbar vertebrae fossils that were accompanied by other identifiable skeletal parts of the specimen. She scoured research collections from around the nation, and was able to find 50 specimens.
Thinocyon
Thinocyon is part of a group of carnivorous, dog-like mammals that lived in the Eocene period.
Many fossils require 3D scans and computer imaging so that scientists can uncover clues about the specimen. Here, Dr. Kort shows us what we can learn from a partial skeleton of Thinocyon from the U-M Museum of Paleontology collection.
Sinopa
Sinopa is a creodont—an archaic carnivorous mammal—from around 50 million years ago. Although creodonts are extinct, Dr. Kort can use clues from the vertebrae, pelvis, and femur to tell how the animal might have moved through the world.
S-shaped articulations
Dr. Kort wondered about the purpose of the s-shaped spinal articulations, or revolute zygapophyses, in certain mammals. She used 3D computer modeling and animation to help her investigation.
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