Phenotypic integration and modularity are concepts that represent the pattern of connectivity of morphological structures within an organism. Integration describes the coordinated variation of traits, and analyses of these relationships among traits often reveals the presence of modules, sets of traits that are highly integrated but relatively independent of other traits. Phenotypic integration and modularity have been studied at both the evolutionary and static level across a variety of clades, although most studies thus far are focused on amniotes, and especially mammals. Using a high-dimensional geometric morphometric approach, we investigated the pattern of cranial integration and modularity of the Italian fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra giglioli). We recovered a highly modular pattern, but this pattern did not support either entirely developmental or functional hypotheses of cranial organisation, possibly reflecting complex interactions amongst multiple influencing factors. We found that size had no significant effect on cranial shape, and that morphological variance of individual modules had no significant relationship with degree of within-module integration. The pattern of cranial integration in the fire salamander is similar to that previously recovered for caecilians, with highly integrated jaw suspensorium and occipital regions, suggesting possible conservation of patterns across lissamphibians.

中文翻译：

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颅骨整合在火sal Salamandra salamandra中（Caudata：Salamandridae）

表型整合和模块性是代表生物体内形态结构连通性模式的概念。整合描述了特质的协调变化，对特质之间这些关系的分析通常揭示了模块，特质集的存在，这些模块高度整合但相对独立于其他特质。尽管到目前为止，大多数研究都集中在羊膜动物，特别是哺乳动物上，但已经在进化和静态两个层面上研究了表型整合和模块性。使用高维几何形态计量学方法，我们研究了意大利火sal（Salamandra salamandra giglioli）的颅骨融合和模块化模式）。我们恢复了高度模块化的模式，但是这种模式既不支持颅骨组织的完全发育或功能假设，也可能反映了多种影响因素之间的复杂相互作用。我们发现大小对颅骨形状没有显着影响，单个模块的形态变异与模块内整合度没有显着关系。火sal中的颅骨整合模式与以前为凯撒人恢复的模式相似，具有高度整合的下颌悬垂和枕骨区域，表明可能在整个两栖类动物中保留了模式。