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Racicot R. Evolution of whale sensory ecology: Frontiers in nondestructive anatomical investigations. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2021; 305:736-752. [PMID: 34546007 DOI: 10.1002/ar.24761] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Revised: 06/09/2021] [Accepted: 07/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Studies surrounding the evolution of sensory system anatomy in cetaceans over the last ~100 years have shed light on aspects of the early evolution of hearing sensitivities, the small relative size of the organ of balance (semicircular canals and vestibule), brain (endocast) shape and relative volume changes, and ontogenetic development of sensory-related structures. Here, I review advances in our knowledge of sensory system anatomy as informed by the use of nondestructive imaging techniques, with a focus on applied methods in computed tomography (CT and μCT), and identify the key questions that remain to be addressed. Of these, the most important are: Is lower frequency hearing sensitivity the ancestral condition for whales? Did echolocation evolve more than once in odontocetes; and if so, when and why? How has the structure of the cetacean brain changed, through the evolution of whales, and does this correspond to changes in hearing sensitivities? Finally, what are the general pathways of ontogenetic development of sensory systems in odontocetes and mysticetes? Answering these questions will allow us to understand important macroevolutionary patterns in a fully aquatic mammalian group and provides baseline data on species for which we have limited biological information because of logistical limitations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Racicot
- Abteilung Messelforschung und Mammalogie, Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturkundemuseum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.,Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
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2
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Lauriano E, Pergolizzi S, Lo Cascio P, Kuciel M, Zizzo N, Guerrera M, Aragona M, Capillo G. Expression of Langerin/CD207 in airways, lung and associated lymph nodes of a stranded striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba). Acta Histochem 2020; 122:151471. [PMID: 31784234 DOI: 10.1016/j.acthis.2019.151471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2019] [Revised: 11/06/2019] [Accepted: 11/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
The airways and lungs of vertebrates are an entrance way for several microbial pathogens. Cetaceans present an upper and lower respiratory anatomy that allows the rapid flow of large air volumes, which may lead to high susceptibility to respiratory infections. Mortality and stranding rate of Cetaceans increased dramatically, so wide the knowledge about the immune system and specific antibodies identifying immune cells populations, is of fundamental importance to monitor and document cetacean health. The aim of this study was to identify the localization of dendritic cells marked by Langerin/CD207 in airways, lungs and associated lymph nodes, of the striped dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba. Samples of trachea, bronchi, lungs and lung-associated lymph nodes were obtained from a stranded adult male of Stenella coeruleoalba. Our results showed abundant lymphoid aggregates (LAs) in the lung of S. ceruleoalba. Langerhans-like dendritic cells were well distributed along the epithelium and interstitium of respiratory tract and in associated lymph nodes. The present study deepens the knowledge about the cetacean's immune system and report about the exploitability of a commercial antibody (Langerin/CD207) for cetacean species.
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García de los Ríos y Loshuertos Á, Arencibia Espinosa A, Soler Laguía M, Gil Cano F, Martínez Gomariz F, López Fernández A, Ramírez Zarzosa G. A Study of the Head during Prenatal and Perinatal Development of Two Fetuses and One Newborn Striped Dolphin ( Stenella coeruleoalba, Meyen 1833) Using Dissections, Sectional Anatomy, CT, and MRI: Anatomical and Functional Implications in Cetaceans and Terrestrial Mammals. Animals (Basel) 2019; 9:ani9121139. [PMID: 31847155 PMCID: PMC6941167 DOI: 10.3390/ani9121139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2019] [Revised: 12/05/2019] [Accepted: 12/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary The head region of the dolphin has been studied widely to identify its anatomical structures and to compare it with other marine and terrestrial mammals. In this study, specimens stranded off the Spanish coast were used. Our study analyzes four dolphin heads during fetal and perinatal development. All specimens were scanned using modern imaging techniques to study their internal organs and to preserve the specimens, which are difficult to obtain. Only one fetus was transversely cross-sectioned to help us to identify critical organs. The developmental study shows several anatomical structures that are compared with cetaceans and terrestrial mammals. During development of the oral cavity, it was observed that the rostral maxillary and mandible teeth (incisive area) had not completely erupted, in contrast with the rest of teeth, which have done so. Also, the main chewing muscle (masseter) was not observed. In addition, we describe the absence of major salivary glands during these developmental stages. Furthermore, we explain the characteristics of the orbit and its relation to the eyeball. In addition, the fetal dolphin’s ear is connected with pharynx in a way similar to that in horses. We conclude that these developmental studies will help cetacean conservation. Abstract Our objective was to analyze the main anatomical structures of the dolphin head during its developmental stages. Most dolphin studies use only one fetal specimen due to the difficulty in obtaining these materials. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) of two fetuses (younger and older) and a perinatal specimen cadaver of striped dolphins were scanned. Only the older fetus was frozen and then was transversely cross-sectioned. In addition, gross dissections of the head were made on a perinatal and an adult specimen. In the oral cavity, only the mandible and maxilla teeth have started to erupt, while the most rostral teeth have not yet erupted. No salivary glands and masseter muscle were observed. The melon was well identified in CT/MRI images at early stages of development. CT and MRI images allowed observation of the maxillary sinus. The orbit and eyeball were analyzed and the absence of infraorbital rim together with the temporal process of the zygomatic bone holding periorbit were described. An enlarged auditory tube was identified using anatomical sections, CT, and MRI. We also compare the dolphin head anatomy with some mammals, trying to underline the anatomical and physiological changes and explain them from an ontogenic point of view.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alberto Arencibia Espinosa
- Departamento de Morfología. Anatomía y Embriología, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Trasmontaña, Arucas, 35416 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
| | - Marta Soler Laguía
- Departamento de Medicina y Cirugía, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain
| | - Francisco Gil Cano
- Departamento de Anatomía y Anatomía Patológica Comparadas, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain
| | - Francisco Martínez Gomariz
- Departamento de Anatomía y Anatomía Patológica Comparadas, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain
| | - Alfredo López Fernández
- Departamento de Biología—CESAM, Universidade de Aveiro, Campus Universitario de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Gregorio Ramírez Zarzosa
- Departamento de Anatomía y Anatomía Patológica Comparadas, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +34-868887546; Fax: +34-868884147
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Churchill M, Miguel J, Beatty BL, Goswami A, Geisler JH. Asymmetry drives modularity of the skull in the common dolphin (Delphinus delphis). Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/bly190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Morgan Churchill
- Department of Biology, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Oshkosh, WI, USA
| | - Jacob Miguel
- Department of Anatomy, College of Osteopathic Medicine, New York Institute of Technology, Old Westbury, NY, USA
| | - Brian L Beatty
- Department of Anatomy, College of Osteopathic Medicine, New York Institute of Technology, Old Westbury, NY, USA
| | - Anjali Goswami
- Life Sciences Department, Natural History Museum, London, UK
| | - Jonathan H Geisler
- Department of Anatomy, College of Osteopathic Medicine, New York Institute of Technology, Old Westbury, NY, USA
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Abstract
AbstractX-ray computed tomography (CT) provides a nondestructive means of studying the inside and outside of objects. It allows accurate visualization and measurement of internal features, that are otherwise impossible to obtain nondestructively, and is a lasting digital record that can be made available to future researchers, museums, and the general public. Here, an overview of CT scanning methodologies and protocol is provided, as well as some recent examples of how this technology is allowing paleontologists to make new inroads into understanding the ecology, evolution, and development of both extant and extinct organisms. Lastly, some frontiers and outstanding questions in the acquisition, processing, and storage of digital 3-D morphological data are highlighted.
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Balanoff AM, Bever GS, Colbert MW, Clarke JA, Field DJ, Gignac PM, Ksepka DT, Ridgely RC, Smith NA, Torres CR, Walsh S, Witmer LM. Best practices for digitally constructing endocranial casts: examples from birds and their dinosaurian relatives. J Anat 2016; 229:173-90. [PMID: 26403623 PMCID: PMC4948053 DOI: 10.1111/joa.12378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/17/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The rapidly expanding interest in, and availability of, digital tomography data to visualize casts of the vertebrate endocranial cavity housing the brain (endocasts) presents new opportunities and challenges to the field of comparative neuroanatomy. The opportunities are many, ranging from the relatively rapid acquisition of data to the unprecedented ability to integrate critically important fossil taxa. The challenges consist of navigating the logistical barriers that often separate a researcher from high-quality data and minimizing the amount of non-biological variation expressed in endocasts - variation that may confound meaningful and synthetic results. Our purpose here is to outline preferred approaches for acquiring digital tomographic data, converting those data to an endocast, and making those endocasts as meaningful as possible when considered in a comparative context. This review is intended to benefit those just getting started in the field but also serves to initiate further discussion between active endocast researchers regarding the best practices for advancing the discipline. Congruent with the theme of this volume, we draw our examples from birds and the highly encephalized non-avian dinosaurs that comprise closely related outgroups along their phylogenetic stem lineage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy M. Balanoff
- Department of Anatomical SciencesStony Brook UniversityStony BrookNYUSA
| | - G. S. Bever
- Department of AnatomyNew York Institute of TechnologyCollege of Osteopathic MedicineOld WestburyNYUSA
| | - Matthew W. Colbert
- Department of Geological SciencesThe University of Texas at AustinAustinTXUSA
| | - Julia A. Clarke
- Department of Geological SciencesThe University of Texas at AustinAustinTXUSA
| | - Daniel J. Field
- Department of Geology and GeophysicsYale UniversityNew HavenCTUSA
| | - Paul M. Gignac
- Department of Anatomy and Cell BiologyOklahoma State University Center for Health SciencesTulsaOKUSA
| | | | - Ryan C. Ridgely
- Department of Biomedical SciencesHeritage College of Osteopathic MedicineOhio UniversityAthensOHUSA
| | - N. Adam Smith
- Department of Earth SciencesThe Field Museum of Natural HistoryChicagoILUSA
| | | | - Stig Walsh
- Department of Natural SciencesNational Museums ScotlandEdinburghUK
| | - Lawrence M. Witmer
- Department of Biomedical SciencesHeritage College of Osteopathic MedicineOhio UniversityAthensOHUSA
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Ito T, Nishimura TD. Enigmatic Diversity of the Maxillary Sinus in Macaques and Its Possible Role as a Spatial Compromise in Craniofacial Modifications. Evol Biol 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s11692-016-9369-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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McDonald M, Vapniarsky-Arzi N, Verstraete F, Staszyk C, Leale D, Woolard K, Arzi B. Characterization of the temporomandibular joint of the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) and Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus). Arch Oral Biol 2015; 60:582-92. [DOI: 10.1016/j.archoralbio.2015.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2014] [Revised: 12/22/2014] [Accepted: 01/02/2015] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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del Castillo DL, Flores DA, Cappozzo HL. Ontogenetic development and sexual dimorphism of franciscana dolphin skull: A 3D geometric morphometric approach. J Morphol 2014; 275:1366-75. [PMID: 25052760 DOI: 10.1002/jmor.20309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2014] [Revised: 06/02/2014] [Accepted: 07/05/2014] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
The aim of this work was to study the postnatal ontogenetic development of Pontoporia blainvillei skull, identifying major changes on shape, and relating them to relevant factors in the life history of the species. We analyzed a complete ontogenetic series (73♂, 83♀) with three-dimensional geometric morphometric techniques. Immature dolphins showed a very well-developed braincase and a poorly developed rostrum, and the principal postnatal changes affected the rostrum and the temporal fossa, both structures implied functionally to the feeding apparatus, thus suggesting a specialized mode for catch fast prey in P. blainvillei. Osseous elements associated with sound production were already well developed on immature dolphins, suggesting the importance of this apparatus since the beginning of postnatal life. Sexual dimorphism was detected on both shape and size variables. Females were bigger than males, in accordance with previous studies. Shape differences between sexes were found on the posterior part of premaxillaries and external bony nares (P < 0.01), suggesting that this sexual dimorphism is related to differences on vocalization capabilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela L del Castillo
- Laboratorio de Ecología, Comportamiento y Mamíferos Marinos, División Mastozoología, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia" Av, Ángel Gallardo 470 (C1405DJR), Buenos Aires, Argentina; CONICET, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Compagnucci C, Fish J, Depew MJ. Left-right asymmetry of the gnathostome skull: its evolutionary, developmental, and functional aspects. Genesis 2014; 52:515-27. [PMID: 24753133 DOI: 10.1002/dvg.22786] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2014] [Accepted: 04/21/2014] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Much of the gnathostome (jawed vertebrate) evolutionary radiation was dependent on the ability to sense and interpret the environment and subsequently act upon this information through utilization of a specialized mode of feeding involving the jaws. While the gnathostome skull, reflective of the vertebrate baüplan, typically is bilaterally symmetric with right (dextral) and left (sinistral) halves essentially representing mirror images along the midline, both adaptive and abnormal asymmetries have appeared. Herein we provide a basic primer on studies of the asymmetric development of the gnathostome skull, touching briefly on asymmetry as a field of study, then describing the nature of cranial development and finally underscoring evolutionary and functional aspects of left-right asymmetric cephalic development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Compagnucci
- Unit of Neuromuscular and Neurodegenerative Disorders, Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Department of Neurosciences, Bambino Gesù Children's Research Hospital, IRCCS, 00165, Rome, Italy
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Piscitelli MA, Raverty SA, Lillie MA, Shadwick RE. A review of cetacean lung morphology and mechanics. J Morphol 2013; 274:1425-40. [DOI: 10.1002/jmor.20192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2012] [Revised: 06/25/2013] [Accepted: 08/05/2013] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Marina A. Piscitelli
- Department of Zoology; University of British Columbia; Vancouver British Columbia Canada V6T 1Z4
| | - Stephen A. Raverty
- Department of Zoology; University of British Columbia; Vancouver British Columbia Canada V6T 1Z4
- Division of Plant and Animal Health; British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture; Abbotsford British Columbia Canada V3G 2M3
| | - Margo A. Lillie
- Department of Zoology; University of British Columbia; Vancouver British Columbia Canada V6T 1Z4
| | - Robert E. Shadwick
- Department of Zoology; University of British Columbia; Vancouver British Columbia Canada V6T 1Z4
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Racicot RA, Colbert MW. Morphology and Variation in Porpoise (Cetacea: Phocoenidae) Cranial Endocasts. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2013; 296:979-92. [DOI: 10.1002/ar.22704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2012] [Accepted: 03/20/2013] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rachel A. Racicot
- Department of Geology and Geophysics; Yale University; New Haven Connecticut
| | - Matthew W. Colbert
- Jackson School of Geosciences; The University of Texas at Austin; Austin Texas
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