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Umbrello LS, Newton H, Baker AM, Travouillon KJ, Westerman M. Vicariant speciation resulting from biogeographic barriers in the Australian tropics: The case of the red-cheeked dunnart ( Sminthopsis virginiae). Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e70215. [PMID: 39206453 PMCID: PMC11349609 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.70215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2024] [Revised: 08/02/2024] [Accepted: 08/09/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Global biodiversity loss continues unabated, and in Australia, the rate of recent mammal extinctions is among the worst in the world. Meanwhile, the diversity among and within many endemic mammal species remains undescribed. This information is crucial to delineate species boundaries and thus inform decision-making for conservation. Sminthopsis virginiae (the red-cheeked dunnart) is a small, dasyurid marsupial found in four disjunct populations around the northern coast of Australia and New Guinea. There are three currently recognized subspecies, each occupying a distinct geographic location. Sminthopsis v. virginiae occurs in Queensland, S. v. rufigenis is distributed across New Guinea and the Aru Islands, and S. v. nitela has populations in the Top End of the Northern Territory and the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Previous molecular work has suggested the current subspecies definitions are not aligned with DNA sequence data, though the sampling was limited. We undertook a comprehensive genetic and morphological review of S. virginiae to clarify relationships within the species. This included mitochondrial (CR, 12S, and cytb) and nuclear (omega-globin, IRBP, and bfib7) loci, and morphometric analysis of skulls and whole wet-preserved specimens held in museums. Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses resolved samples into two distinct clades, demarcated by the Gulf of Carpentaria in Australia's north. Sminthopsis. v. nitela was consistently separated from S. v. virginiae and S. v. rufigenis, based on the overall body and skull size and craniodental features, while S. v. virginiae and S. v. rufigenis were more difficult to distinguish from each other. Thus, we redescribed S. virginiae, recognizing two species, S. nitela (raised from subspecies) and S. virginiae (now comprising the subspecies S. v. virginiae and S. v. rufigenis). This study highlights the importance of recognizing cryptic mammal fauna to help address the gap in our knowledge about diagnosing diversity during a time of conservation crisis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linette S. Umbrello
- School of Biology and Environmental ScienceQueensland University of TechnologyBrisbaneQueenslandAustralia
- Collections and ResearchWestern Australian MuseumWelshpoolWestern AustraliaAustralia
| | - Hayley Newton
- Collections and ResearchWestern Australian MuseumWelshpoolWestern AustraliaAustralia
- School of Environmental and Conservation SciencesMurdoch UniversityMurdochWestern AustraliaAustralia
| | - Andrew M. Baker
- School of Biology and Environmental ScienceQueensland University of TechnologyBrisbaneQueenslandAustralia
- Biodiversity and Geosciences ProgramQueensland MuseumSouth BrisbaneQueenslandAustralia
| | - Kenny J. Travouillon
- Collections and ResearchWestern Australian MuseumWelshpoolWestern AustraliaAustralia
| | - Michael Westerman
- Department of Ecology and GeneticsLa Trobe UniversityBundooraVictoriaAustralia
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McDermott CT. Sugar Glider Pediatrics. Vet Clin North Am Exot Anim Pract 2024; 27:229-244. [PMID: 38097493 DOI: 10.1016/j.cvex.2023.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/08/2024]
Abstract
Sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps) are small nocturnal marsupials with a unique metabolism and reproductive strategy compared to other common exotic companion mammals. Although there are few reports on the pediatric diseases of sugar gliders, clinicians should be aware of the normal reproductive anatomy, physiology, and rearing of sugar gliders. By recognizing the signs of normal reproduction and joey development, clinicians can identify abnormalities quickly and provide appropriate intervention, as needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Colin T McDermott
- Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, 1B-403 To Yuen Building, 31 To Yuen Street, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong 999077, China.
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Newar SL, Schneiderová I, Hughes B, Bowman J. Ultrasound and ultraviolet: crypsis in gliding mammals. PeerJ 2024; 12:e17048. [PMID: 38549780 PMCID: PMC10977092 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.17048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Gliding is only present in six extant groups of mammals-interestingly, despite divergent evolutionary histories, all mammalian gliders are strictly nocturnal. Gliding mammals also seem to have relatively high rates of ultrasound use and ultraviolet-induced photoluminescence (UVP) in contrast with their close relatives. Therefore, we hypothesized that, despite diverging lineages, gliding mammals use similar modes of cryptic communication compared to their non-gliding counterparts. We developed two datasets containing the vocal range (minimum-maximum of the dominant harmonic; kHz) and UVP of 73 and 82 species, respectively; we report four novel vocal repertoires and 57 novel observations of the presence or absence of UVP. We complemented these datasets with information about body size, diel activity patterns, habitat openness, and sociality to explore possible covariates related to vocal production and UVP. We found that the maximum of the dominant harmonic was significant higher in gliding mammals when vocalizing than their non-gliding relatives. Additionally, we found that nocturnality was the only significant predictor of UVP, consistent with the previous hypothesis that luminophores primarily drive UVP in mammal fur. In contrast, however, we did not find UVP ubiquitous in nocturnal mammals, suggesting that some unknown process may contribute to variation in this trait.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sasha L. Newar
- Environmental and Life Sciences, Trent University, Peterborough, ON, Canada
| | | | - Bryan Hughes
- Faculty of Biology, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON, Canada
| | - Jeff Bowman
- Environmental and Life Sciences, Trent University, Peterborough, ON, Canada
- Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Foresty, Peterborough, ON, Canada
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Feigin CY, Moreno JA, Ramos R, Mereby SA, Alivisatos A, Wang W, van Amerongen R, Camacho J, Rasweiler JJ, Behringer RR, Ostrow B, Plikus MV, Mallarino R. Convergent deployment of ancestral functions during the evolution of mammalian flight membranes. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eade7511. [PMID: 36961889 PMCID: PMC10038344 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ade7511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2022] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Lateral flight membranes, or patagia, have evolved repeatedly in diverse mammalian lineages. While little is known about patagium development, its recurrent evolution may suggest a shared molecular basis. By combining transcriptomics, developmental experiments, and mouse transgenics, we demonstrate that lateral Wnt5a expression in the marsupial sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps) promotes the differentiation of its patagium primordium. We further show that this function of Wnt5a reprises ancestral roles in skin morphogenesis predating mammalian flight and has been convergently used during patagium evolution in eutherian bats. Moreover, we find that many genes involved in limb development have been redeployed during patagium outgrowth in both the sugar glider and bat. Together, our findings reveal that deeply conserved genetic toolkits contribute to the evolutionary transition to flight in mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles Y. Feigin
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
- School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia
| | - Jorge A. Moreno
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Raul Ramos
- Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Sarah A. Mereby
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Ares Alivisatos
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Wei Wang
- Lewis Sigler Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Renée van Amerongen
- Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Jasmin Camacho
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO 64110, USA
| | - John J. Rasweiler
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY 11203, USA
| | - Richard R. Behringer
- Department of Genetics, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Bruce Ostrow
- Department of Biology, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI 49401, USA
| | - Maksim V. Plikus
- Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Ricardo Mallarino
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
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Engelman RK. Occipital condyle width (OCW) is a highly accurate predictor of body mass in therian mammals. BMC Biol 2022; 20:37. [PMID: 35130893 PMCID: PMC8883515 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-021-01224-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2020] [Accepted: 12/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Body mass estimation is of paramount importance for paleobiological studies, as body size influences numerous other biological parameters. In mammals, body mass has been traditionally estimated using regression equations based on measurements of the dentition or limb bones, but for many species teeth are unreliable estimators of body mass and postcranial elements are unknown. This issue is exemplified in several groups of extinct mammals that have disproportionately large heads relative to their body size and for which postcranial remains are rare. In these taxa, previous authors have noted that the occiput is unusually small relative to the skull, suggesting that occiput dimensions may be a more accurate predictor of body mass. RESULTS The relationship between occipital condyle width (OCW) and body mass was tested using a large dataset (2127 specimens and 404 species) of mammals with associated in vivo body mass. OCW was found to be a strong predictor of body mass across therian mammals, with regression models of Mammalia as a whole producing error values (~ 31.1% error) comparable to within-order regression equations of other skeletal variables in previous studies. Some clades (e.g., monotremes, lagomorphs) exhibited specialized occiput morphology but followed the same allometric relationship as the majority of mammals. Compared to two traditional metrics of body mass estimation, skull length, and head-body length, OCW outperformed both in terms of model accuracy. CONCLUSIONS OCW-based regression models provide an alternative method of estimating body mass to traditional craniodental and postcranial metrics and are highly accurate despite the broad taxonomic scope of the dataset. Because OCW accurately predicts body mass in most therian mammals, it can be used to estimate body mass in taxa with no close living analogues without concerns of insufficient phylogenetic bracketing or extrapolating beyond the bounds of the data. This, in turn, provides a robust method for estimating body mass in groups for which body mass estimation has previously been problematic (e.g., "creodonts" and other extinct Paleogene mammals).
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Affiliation(s)
- Russell K Engelman
- Department of Biology, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA.
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Knipler ML, Dowton M, Mikac KM. Genome-Wide SNPs Detect Hybridisation of Marsupial Gliders ( Petaurus breviceps breviceps × Petaurus norfolcensis) in the Wild. Genes (Basel) 2021; 12:1327. [PMID: 34573311 PMCID: PMC8467023 DOI: 10.3390/genes12091327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2021] [Revised: 08/20/2021] [Accepted: 08/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Petaurus breviceps and Petaurus norfolcensis have produced hybrids in captivity, however there are no reported cases of Petaurus hybridisation in the wild. This study uses morphological data, mitochondrial DNA, and nuclear genome-wide SNP markers to confirm P. breviceps breviceps × P. norfolcensis hybridisation within their natural range on the central coast of New South Wales, Australia. Morphological data identified a potential hybrid that was confirmed with next-generation sequencing technology and 10,111 genome-wide SNPs. Both STRUCTURE and NewHybrid analyses identified the hybrid as a P. norfolcensis backcross, which suggests an initial F1 hybrid was fertile. The mitochondrial DNA matched that of a P. b. breviceps, indicating that a P. b. breviceps female initially mated with a P. norfolcensis male to produce a fertile female offspring. Our study is an important example of how genome-wide SNPs can be used to identify hybrids where the distribution of congeners overlaps. Hybridisation between congeners is likely to become more frequent as climate changes and habitats fragment, resulting in increased interactions and competition for resources and mates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monica L. Knipler
- Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia;
| | - Mark Dowton
- Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, The School of Chemistry and Molecular Bioscience, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia;
| | - Katarina Maryann Mikac
- Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia;
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Moore HA, Dunlop JA, Jolly CJ, Kelly E, Woinarski JCZ, Ritchie EG, Burnett S, van Leeuwen S, Valentine LE, Cowan MA, Nimmo DG. A brief history of the northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus): a systematic review. AUSTRALIAN MAMMALOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1071/am21002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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