re: scapula question

[DinoBoyGraphics@aol.com]

Dave,

I think the safe answer is we do not know for sure.  Without doing some 
developmental genetics work, it may be impossible to say with certainty.  My 
best guess, given the widespread nature of the suprascapular cartilage, 
posssibly going back farther than the split between bony and cartilagenous 
fish, is that it is a single homolagous structure that is lost (or at least 
minimized developmentally to the point of apparent phenotypic loss) when 
selected against.

Scott
-- 
Scott Hartman
Zoology & Physiology
University of Wyoming
Laramie, WY 82070

(307) 742-3799