Abstract
The relation of skeleton weight to body weight with increasing size is compared for aquatic and terrestrial vertebrates. Due to the buoyancy of water, the skeleton weights of aquatic vertebrates (fishes and whales) vary in nearly direct proportion (exponent 1.0) to body weight; while the skeletons of terrestrial vertebrates occupy an increasingly greater proportion of total body weight as size increases (exponent greater than i. i) due to the necessity of supporting their weight on land.
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Reynolds, W.W. Skeleton weight allometry in aquatic and terrestrial vertebrates. Hydrobiologia 56, 35–37 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00023283
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00023283