Ph.D. student Katie Stanchak just published a new paper describing  the variation in the membrane and limb musculature associated with the calcar – a neomorphic skeletal structure found in the hind limbs of most bats. By combining diffusible iodine-based contrast enhanced computed tomography (diceCT) and standard histological techniques, Katie found that the arrangement of the calcar musculature varies among bat species that have different flight ecologies. These results suggest that the calcar may have a functional role in flight maneuverability, an idea that Katie will be testing in later stages of her Dissertation.

Katie’s article has also been featured in the diceCT blog.