Evolvability of the Primate Pelvic Girdle

The ilium and ischiopubic bones of the pelvis arise from different regulatory pathways, and as a result, they may be modular in their organization such that features on one bone may be morphologically integrated with each other, but not with features on the other pelvic bone. Modularity at this gross level of organization can act to increase the ability of these structures to respond to selection pressures (i.e., their evolvability)....