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Woodman N, Wilken AT. Comparative functional skeletal morphology among three genera of shrews: implications for the evolution of locomotor behavior in the Soricinae (Eulipotyphla: Soricidae). J Mammal 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyz098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
The clade comprising the soricid tribes Blarinellini (Blarinella) and Blarinini (Blarina and Cryptotis) is notable within the Soricidae (Eulipotyphla) for the large proportion of reportedly semifossorial species. To better define locomotor modes among species in these two tribes, we quantified purported locomotor adaptations by calculating 23 functional indices from postcranial measurements obtained from museum specimens of Blarina and Blarinella and published measurements for 16 species of Cryptotis. We then analyzed relative ambulatory–fossorial function of each species using principal component analyses and mean percentile rank (MPR) analysis of the indices. Species within the Blarinellini–Blarinini clade exhibit a graded series of morphologies with four primary functional groupings that we classified as “ambulatory,” “intermediate,” “semifossorial,” and “fossorial.” To obtain a preliminary overview of evolution of locomotor modes in this group, we mapped MPRs on a composite phylogeny and examined the resulting patterns. That analysis revealed that the most recent common ancestor of the Blarinellini–Blarinini clade most likely had an intermediate or semifossorial locomotor morphology. Individual subclades subsequently evolved either more ambulatory or more fossorial morphologies. Hence, evolution of locomotor traits within this clade is complex. Multiple shifts in locomotor mode likely occurred, and no single directional tendency is apparent either among the major modes or in levels of complexity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neal Woodman
- USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Alec T Wilken
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
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Nations JA, Heaney LR, Demos TC, Achmadi AS, Rowe KC, Esselstyn JA. A simple skeletal measurement effectively predicts climbing behaviour in a diverse clade of small mammals. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blz085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
AbstractArboreal locomotion allows access to above-ground resources and might have fostered the diversification of mammals. Nevertheless, simple morphological measurements that consistently correlate with arboreality remain indefinable. As such, the climbing habits of many species of mammals, living and extinct, remain speculative. We collected quantitative data on the climbing tendencies of 20 species of murine rodents, an ecologically and morphologically diverse clade. We leveraged Bayesian phylogenetic mixed models (BPMMs), incorporating intraspecific variation and phylogenetic uncertainty, to determine which, if any, traits (17 skeletal indices) predict climbing frequency. We used ordinal BPMMs to test the ability of the indices to place 48 murine species that lack quantitative climbing data into three qualitative locomotor categories (terrestrial, general and arboreal). Only two indices (both measures of relative digit length) accurately predict locomotor styles, with manus digit length showing the best fit. Manus digit length has low phylogenetic signal, is largely explained by locomotor ecology and might effectively predict locomotion across a multitude of small mammals, including extinct species. Surprisingly, relative tail length, a common proxy for locomotion, was a poor predictor of climbing. In general, detailed, quantitative natural history data, such as those presented here, are needed to enhance our understanding of the evolutionary and ecological success of clades.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan A Nations
- Museum of Natural Science, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
| | | | | | - Anang S Achmadi
- Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense, Research Centre for Biology, Cibinong, Jawa Barat, Indonesia
| | - Kevin C Rowe
- Sciences Department, Museum Victoria, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Jacob A Esselstyn
- Museum of Natural Science, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
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He K, Woodman N, Boaglio S, Roberts M, Supekar S, Maldonado JE. Molecular Phylogeny Supports Repeated Adaptation to Burrowing within Small-Eared Shrews Genus of Cryptotis (Eulipotyphla, Soricidae). PLoS One 2015; 10:e0140280. [PMID: 26489020 PMCID: PMC4619083 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0140280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2015] [Accepted: 09/23/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Small-eared shrews of the New World genus Cryptotis (Eulipotyphla, Soricidae) comprise at least 42 species that traditionally have been partitioned among four or more species groups based on morphological characters. The Cryptotis mexicana species group is of particular interest, because its member species inhibit a subtly graded series of forelimb adaptations that appear to correspond to locomotory behaviors that range from more ambulatory to more fossorial. Unfortunately, the evolutionary relationships both among species in the C. mexicana group and among the species groups remain unclear. To better understand the phylogeny of this group of shrews, we sequenced two mitochondrial and two nuclear genes. To help interpret the pattern and direction of morphological changes, we also generated a matrix of morphological characters focused on the evolutionarily plastic humerus. We found significant discordant between the resulting molecular and morphological trees, suggesting considerable convergence in the evolution of the humerus. Our results indicate that adaptations for increased burrowing ability evolved repeatedly within the genus Cryptotis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai He
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., United States of America
- Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Neal Woodman
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., United States of America
- USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., United States of America
| | - Sean Boaglio
- Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington, D.C., United States of America
- Department of Biology, Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Washington, United States of America
| | - Mariel Roberts
- Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington, D.C., United States of America
- University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Sunjana Supekar
- Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington, D.C., United States of America
- Department of Biology, Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Jesús E. Maldonado
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., United States of America
- Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington, D.C., United States of America
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Woodman N, Stabile FA. Functional skeletal morphology and its implications for locomotory behavior among three genera of myosoricine shrews (Mammalia: Eulipotyphla: Soricidae). J Morphol 2015; 276:550-63. [DOI: 10.1002/jmor.20365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2014] [Revised: 12/09/2014] [Accepted: 12/19/2014] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Neal Woodman
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, National Museum of Natural History; Smithsonian Institution; Washington, DC 20013-7012
| | - Frank A. Stabile
- Department of Biology; The College of New Jersey; Ewing New Jersey 08628
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