Rodents and carnivorans constitute two diverse clades with variable life habits. To analyze the common ecomorphological aspects of their limbs in relation to their different substrate uses, the shape of humerus and femur was explored using 3-D geometric morphometrics. The principal components and MANOVA analyses show that the shape of the humerus is similarly related to the substrate use and taxonomy, and the shape of the femur is heavily influenced by taxonomic differences. Nevertheless, beneath those differences in the latter, a relation with the proposed ecological categories is also found. The stronger ecomorphological correlation of the humerus with respect to the femur may indicate a differential selective pressure on each limb. This could be reflecting the greater involvement of the forelimb over the hind limb in several activities performed with the limbs such as digging and climbing. The combined analysis of two distantly related groups with diverse ecological characteristics allows a recognition of similar biological patterns hidden under taxonomic differences. Furthermore, the study of morphological similarities and differences underlying taxonomic variability may led to a more profound understanding of the evolution of the locomotor apparatus.

中文翻译：

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啮齿动物和小型食肉动物的运动：它们有什么不同吗？

啮齿动物和食肉动物构成了两个不同的进化枝，它们的生活习惯各不相同。为了分析与不同基质用途相关的四肢的常见生态形态方面，使用 3-D 几何形态测量学探索了肱骨和股骨的形状。主成分和 MANOVA 分析表明，肱骨的形状与基质使用和分类类似，股骨的形状受分类差异的影响很大。然而，在后者的这些差异之下，也发现了与提议的生态类别的关系。肱骨相对于股骨的更强的生态形态相关性可能表明每个肢体的选择压力不同。这可能反映了在一些用四肢进行的活动（例如挖掘和攀爬）中，前肢比后肢更多地参与。对具有不同生态特征的两个远亲群体进行组合分析，可以识别隐藏在分类差异下的相似生物模式。此外，对分类变异性的形态相似性和差异性的研究可能会导致对运动器官进化的更深刻理解。