The neck connects the head and the trunk and is the key structure allowing all movements of the head. The neck morphology of birds is the most variable among living tetrapods, including significant differences in the number and shape of the cervical vertebrae. Despite these differences, according to the literature, three morphofunctional regions (i.e., modules) have been identified along the neck. However, this regionalization has not been quantitatively tested through a geometric morphomet-ric approach applied to the cervical vertebrae. Based on the examination of 187 cervical vertebrae belonging to 16 species with various ecologies, we revealed a common modular structure of the neck using 3D surface geometric morphometrics. We adopted an approach without a priori clustering to identify modules along the neck. The phylogenetic influence on each module was tested. Then, each module was digitally reconstructed as a 3D vertebral model, and postural characteristics were studied. We characterized 9 modules: 7 are transpecific, being shared by at least 2 and up to 15 species. Two modules are specific to species with particularly long necks. The modularity pattern appears to be tightly linked to morphofunctional aspects and partially to phylogeny. In contrast, feeding ecology seems to be more closely related to the chaining of modules (the neck) than to the modules themselves. A study of postural properties revealed that each modular unit exhibits a characteristic curvature. Overall, the modular structure of the neck corresponds to the three traditional functional regions. However, the results also revealed unexpected pattern complexity, including subdivisions within these regions. The study of the patterns of modularity is therefore a relevant approach for challenging the three-functional-region hypothesis and allowed us to identify the structure of the diversity of the necks of birds.

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The Cameroon volcanic line (CVL), which represents a major topographical feature of Central Africa, is poorly known concerning its small-mammal biodiversity. Situated in the Bamenda-Banso highland plateau, Mt Oku is the second highest peak (3011 m) of the CVL after Mt Cameroon. Despite intensive cultivation and cattle grazing, especially in the Kilum-Idjim zone, Mt Oku has retained some relict mountain forests, which yielded many endemic small mammals. We conducted new taxonomic inventories for small mammals and present the results for rodents focussing on morphology and morphometry. We also present the skull characters and morphological variability of the Oku endemic genus Lamottemys Petter, 1986 and provide characters for the identification of other endemic species such as

We performed a terrestrial small mammal species inventory in the Agoua and Wari‐Maro forest reserves (Benin). Four localities were sampled, and in each locality, three habitats were surveyed: dense forest, open forest or woodland savannah and shrub savannah. This is the first comprehensive inventory for small mammals in central Benin. We captured 794 small mammals representing twenty species (six shrew species, fourteen rodent species). Three new species that need to be described were recorded. We observed a mixture of both true forest species and of species adapted to a wider range of habitats ranging from savannah to forest clearings. Species with either Sudanian or Guinea–Congolian affinities were recorded, as well as a new species endemic to Togo and Benin. This rich biodiversity underlines the urgent need for an effective protection of these forests. The Sudanian species Crocidura cf. foxi was more abundant in Wari‐Maro than in Agoua forest, while the Guineo–Congolian species Praomys misonnei and Hylomyscus sp were only captured in Agoua forest. These results are in agreement with the fact that these two forests belong to two distinct chorological zones.

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Phenotypic plasticity has been repeatedly suggested to facilitate adaptation to new environmental conditions, as in invasions. Here, we investigate this possibility by focusing on the worldwide invasion of Drosophila suzukii : an invasive species that has rapidly colonized all continents over the last decade. This species is characterized by a highly developed ovipositor, allowing females to lay eggs through the skin of ripe fruits. Using a novel approach based on the combined use of scanning electron microscopy and photogrammetry, we quantified the ovipositor size and three-dimensional shape, contrasting invasive and native populations raised at three different developmental temperatures. We found a small but significant effect of temperature and geographical origin on the ovipositor shape, showing the occurrence of both geographical differentiation and plasticity to temperature. The shape reaction norms are in turn strikingly similar among populations, suggesting very little difference in shape plasticity among invasive and native populations, and therefore rejecting the hypothesis of a particular role for the plasticity of the ovipositor in the invasion success. Overall, the ovipositor shape seems to be a fairly robust trait, indicative of stabilizing selection. The large performance spectrum rather than the flexibility of the ovipositor would thus contribute to the success of D. suzukii worldwide invasion.

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