Joint XIPS

New DFG Project Joint X

  • Date: Mar 2023

Joint-X

The new DFG-funded project „Joint-X: The role of coxa-trochanteral joints in beetle evolution revealed by quantitative synchrotron X-ray microtomography and (semi-)automatic image analysis” has started at IPS.

Within the project, hundreds of beetle “hip” joints will be analyzed and correlated with phylogenetic trees to identify key events in beetle evolution and trace the transformation from a simple hinge joint into one of the most peculiar morphological characters in beetles – the “biological screw”.

A secondary result of this project will be a comprehensive collection of 3D morphological datasets of beetles, which will be made available to the public via an open online repository.
 

Joint X
Figure: Fast data evaluation of a screw joint in 2D and 3D. A: Single 2D slice of the tomographic volume. B: Quick 3D volume rendering of the same dataset. C: Volume rendering from B cut in two planes revealing joint articulation.

DFG JointX