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Mao F, Zhang C, Ren J, Wang T, Wang G, Zhang F, Rich T, Vickers-Rich P, Meng J. Fossils document evolutionary changes of jaw joint to mammalian middle ear. Nature 2024; 628:576-581. [PMID: 38570677 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07235-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
Abstract
The dual jaw joint of Morganucodon1,2 consists of the dentary-squamosal joint laterally and the articular-quadrate one medially. The articular-quadrate joint and its associated post-dentary bones constitute the precursor of the mammalian middle ear. Fossils documenting the transition from such a precursor to the mammalian middle ear are poor, resulting in inconsistent interpretations of this hallmark apparatus in the earliest stage of mammaliaform evolution1-5. Here we report mandibular middle ears from two Jurassic mammaliaforms: a new morganucodontan-like species and a pseudotribosphenic shuotheriid species6. The morganucodontan-like species shows many previously unknown post-dentary bone morphologies1,2 and exhibits features that suggest a loss of load-bearing function in its articular-quadrate joint. The middle ear of the shuotheriid approaches the mammalian condition in that it has features that are suitable for an exclusively auditory function, although the post-dentary bones are still attached to the dentary. With size reduction of the jaw-joint bones, the quadrate shifts medially at different degrees in relation to the articular in the two mammaliaforms. These changes provide evidence of a gradual loss of load-bearing function in the articular-quadrate jaw joint-a prerequisite for the detachment of the post-dentary bones from the dentary7-12 and the eventual breakdown of the Meckel's cartilage13-15 during the evolution of mammaliaforms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fangyuan Mao
- Key Laboratory of Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Chi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jicheng Ren
- Key Laboratory of Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Tao Wang
- Bureau of Land and Resources of Lufeng County, Lufeng, China
| | - Guofu Wang
- Fossil Research Center of Chuxiong Prefecture, Chuxiong, China
| | - Fakui Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Thomas Rich
- Museums Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Patricia Vickers-Rich
- Museums Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- School of Earth and Planetary Science, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Jin Meng
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA.
- Earth and Environmental Sciences, Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA.
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2
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Wang H, Wang Y. Middle ear innovation in Early Cretaceous eutherian mammals. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6831. [PMID: 37884521 PMCID: PMC10603157 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42606-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The middle ear ossicles in modern mammals are repurposed from postdentary bones in non-mammalian cynodonts. Recent discoveries by palaeontological and embryonic studies have developed different models for the middle ear evolution in mammaliaforms. However, little is known about the evolutionary scenario of the middle ear in early therians. Here we report a detached middle ear preserved in a new eutherian mammal from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota. The well-preserved articulation of the malleus and incus suggest that the saddle-shaped incudomallear joint is a major apomorphy of Early Cretaceous eutherians. By contrast to the distinct saddle-like incudomallear articulation in therians, differences between the overlapping versus the half-overlapping incudomallear joints in monotremes and stem mammals would be relatively minor. The middle ear belongs to the microtype by definition, indicating its adaptation to high-frequency hearing. Current evidence indicates that significant evolutionary innovations of the middle ear in modern therians evolved in Early Cretaceous.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haibing Wang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100044, Beijing, China.
| | - Yuanqing Wang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100044, Beijing, China.
- College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China.
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3
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Dhawan SS, Yedavalli V, Massoud TF. Atavistic and vestigial anatomical structures in the head, neck, and spine: an overview. Anat Sci Int 2023:10.1007/s12565-022-00701-7. [PMID: 36680662 DOI: 10.1007/s12565-022-00701-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2022] [Accepted: 12/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Organisms may retain nonfunctional anatomical features as a consequence of evolutionary natural selection. Resultant atavistic and vestigial anatomical structures have long been a source of perplexity. Atavism is when an ancestral trait reappears after loss through an evolutionary change in previous generations, whereas vestigial structures are remnants that are largely or entirely functionless relative to their original roles. While physicians are cognizant of their existence, atavistic and vestigial structures are rarely emphasized in anatomical curricula and can, therefore, be puzzling when discovered incidentally. In addition, the literature is replete with examples of the terms atavistic and vestigial being used interchangeably without careful distinction between them. We provide an overview of important atavistic and vestigial structures in the head, neck, and spine that can serve as a reference for anatomists and clinical neuroscientists. We review the literature on atavistic and vestigial anatomical structures of the head, neck, and spine that may be encountered in clinical practice. We define atavistic and vestigial structures and employ these definitions consistently when classifying anatomical structures. Pertinent anatomical structures are numerous and include human tails, plica semilunaris, the vomeronasal organ, levator claviculae, and external ear muscles, to name a few. Atavistic and vestigial structures are found throughout the head, neck, and spine. Some, such as human tails and branchial cysts may be clinically symptomatic. Literature reports indicate that their prevalence varies across populations. Knowledge of atavistic and vestigial anatomical structures can inform diagnoses, prevent misrecognition of variation for pathology, and guide clinical interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siddhant Suri Dhawan
- Department of Bioengineering, Schools of Engineering and Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, USA
| | - Vivek Yedavalli
- Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
| | - Tarik F Massoud
- Division of Neuroimaging and Neurointervention, and Stanford Initiative for Multimodality Neuro-Imaging in Translational Anatomy Research (SIMITAR), Department of Radiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, USA. .,Center for Academic Medicine, Radiology MC: 5659; 453 Quarry Road, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, USA.
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A new multituberculate from the latest Cretaceous of central China and its implications for multituberculate tooth homologies and occlusion. J MAMM EVOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10914-022-09636-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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5
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Zhou Z. The Rising of Paleontology in China: A Century-Long Road. BIOLOGY 2022; 11:1104. [PMID: 35892960 PMCID: PMC9332504 DOI: 10.3390/biology11081104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2022] [Revised: 07/09/2022] [Accepted: 07/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
In this paper, the history of paleontology in China from 1920 to 2020 is divided into three major stages, i.e., 1920-1949, 1949-1978, and 1979-2020. As one of the first scientific disciplines to have earned international fame in China, the development of Chinese paleontology benefitted from international collaborations and China's rich resources. Since 1978, China's socio-economic development and its open-door policy to the outside world have also played a key role in the growth of Chinese paleontology. In the 21st century, thanks to constant funding from the government and the rise of the younger generation of paleontologists, Chinese paleontology is expected to make even more contributions to the integration of paleontology with both biological and geological research projects by taking advantage of new technologies and China's rich paleontological resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhonghe Zhou
- Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 142 Xizhimenwai Dajie, Beijing 100044, China
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6
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Wible JR, Shelley SL, Bi S. Response to 'Monotreme middle ear is not primitive for Mammalia'. Natl Sci Rev 2021; 8:nwab132. [PMID: 34858617 PMCID: PMC8566169 DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwab132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2021] [Revised: 07/12/2021] [Accepted: 07/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- John R Wible
- Section of Mammals, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, USA
| | | | - Shundong Bi
- Section of Mammals, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, USA
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Meng J, Mao F. Monotreme middle ear is not primitive for Mammalia. Natl Sci Rev 2021; 8:nwab131. [PMID: 34858616 PMCID: PMC8566185 DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwab131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2021] [Revised: 07/08/2021] [Accepted: 07/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jin Meng
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, USA
- Earth and Environmental Sciences, Graduate Center, City University of New York, USA
| | - Fangyuan Mao
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, USA
- Key Laboratory of Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
- CASCenter for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, China
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8
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A New Mammal Skull from the Late Cretaceous of Romania and Phylogenetic Affinities of Kogaionid Multituberculates. J MAMM EVOL 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10914-021-09564-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
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9
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Zhou Z, Meng Q, Zhu R, Wang M. Spatiotemporal evolution of the Jehol Biota: Responses to the North China craton destruction in the Early Cretaceous. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2107859118. [PMID: 34400505 PMCID: PMC8403929 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2107859118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota is a terrestrial lagerstätte that contains exceptionally well-preserved fossils indicating the origin and early evolution of Mesozoic life, such as birds, dinosaurs, pterosaurs, mammals, insects, and flowering plants. New geochronologic studies have further constrained the ages of the fossil-bearing beds, and recent investigations on Early Cretaceous tectonic settings have provided much new information for understanding the spatiotemporal distribution of the biota and dispersal pattern of its members. Notably, the occurrence of the Jehol Biota coincides with the initial and peak stages of the North China craton destruction in the Early Cretaceous, and thus the biotic evolution is related to the North China craton destruction. However, it remains largely unknown how the tectonic activities impacted the development of the Jehol Biota in northeast China and other contemporaneous biotas in neighboring areas in East and Central Asia. It is proposed that the Early Cretaceous rift basins migrated eastward in the northern margin of the North China craton and the Great Xing'an Range, and the migration is regarded to have resulted from eastward retreat of the subducting paleo-Pacific plate. The diachronous development of the rift basins led to the lateral variations of stratigraphic sequences and depositional environments, which in turn influenced the spatiotemporal evolution of the Jehol Biota. This study represents an effort to explore the linkage between terrestrial biota evolution and regional tectonics and how plate tectonics constrained the evolution of a terrestrial biota through various surface geological processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhonghe Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China;
- Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Qingren Meng
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Rixiang Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Min Wang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China
- Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China
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Wang J, Wible JR, Guo B, Shelley SL, Hu H, Bi S. A monotreme-like auditory apparatus in a Middle Jurassic haramiyidan. Nature 2021; 590:279-283. [PMID: 33505017 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-03137-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2020] [Accepted: 12/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Among extant vertebrates, mammals are distinguished by having a chain of three auditory ossicles (the malleus, incus and stapes) that transduce sound waves and promote an increased range of audible-especially high-frequencies1. By contrast, the homologous bones in early fossil mammals and relatives also functioned in chewing through their bony attachments to the lower jaw2. Recent discoveries of well-preserved Mesozoic mammals have provided glimpses into the transition from the dual (masticatory and auditory) to the single auditory function for the ossicles, which is now widely accepted to have occurred at least three times in mammal evolution3-6. Here we report a skull and postcranium that we refer to the haramiyidan Vilevolodon diplomylos (dating to the Middle Jurassic epoch (160 million years ago)) and that shows excellent preservation of the malleus, incus and ectotympanic (which supports the tympanic membrane). After comparing this fossil with other Mesozoic and extant mammals, we propose that the overlapping incudomallear articulation found in this and other Mesozoic fossils, in extant monotremes and in early ontogeny in extant marsupials and placentals is a morphology that evolved in several groups of mammals in the transition from the dual to the single function for the ossicles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junyou Wang
- Centre for Vertebrate Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Palaeontology, Yunnan University, Kunming, China.,Inner Mongolia Museum of Natural History, Hohhot, China
| | - John R Wible
- Centre for Vertebrate Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Palaeontology, Yunnan University, Kunming, China. .,Section of Mammals, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
| | - Bin Guo
- Inner Mongolia Museum of Natural History, Hohhot, China
| | - Sarah L Shelley
- Section of Mammals, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Han Hu
- Zoology Division, School of Environmental and Rural Sciences, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Shundong Bi
- Centre for Vertebrate Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Palaeontology, Yunnan University, Kunming, China. .,Department of Biology, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA, USA.
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