1
|
Singh SA, Elsler A, Stubbs TL, Rayfield EJ, Benton MJ. Predatory synapsid ecomorphology signals growing dynamism of late Palaeozoic terrestrial ecosystems. Commun Biol 2024; 7:201. [PMID: 38368492 PMCID: PMC10874460 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-05879-2] [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: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 02/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Terrestrial ecosystems evolved substantially through the Palaeozoic, especially the Permian, gaining much new complexity, especially among predators. Key among these predators were non-mammalian synapsids. Predator ecomorphology reflect interactions with prey and competitors, which are key controls on carnivore diversity and ecology. Therefore, carnivorous synapsids may offer insight on wider ecological evolution as the first complex, tetrapod-dominated, terrestrial ecosystems formed through the late Palaeozoic. Using morphometric and phylogenetic comparative methods, we chart carnivorous synapsid trophic morphology from the latest Carboniferous to the earliest Triassic (307-251.2 Ma). We find a major morphofunctional shift in synapsid carnivory between the early and middle Permian, via the addition of new feeding modes increasingly specialised for greater biting power or speed that captures the growing antagonism and dynamism of terrestrial tetrapod predator-prey interactions. The further evolution of new hypo- and hypercarnivorous synapsids highlight the nascent intrinsic pressures and complexification of terrestrial ecosystems across the mid-late Permian.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Suresh A Singh
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK.
| | - Armin Elsler
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Thomas L Stubbs
- School of Life, Health and Chemical Sciences, Open University, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AE, UK
| | - Emily J Rayfield
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Michael J Benton
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Sosiak C, Janovitz T, Perrichot V, Timonera JP, Barden P. Trait-Based Paleontological Niche Prediction Recovers Extinct Ecological Breadth of the Earliest Specialized Ant Predators. Am Nat 2023; 202:E147-E162. [PMID: 38033183 DOI: 10.1086/726739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
AbstractPaleoecological estimation is fundamental to the reconstruction of evolutionary and environmental histories. The ant fossil record preserves a range of species in three-dimensional fidelity and chronicles faunal turnover across the Cretaceous and Cenozoic; taxonomically rich and ecologically diverse, ants are an exemplar system to test new methods of paleoecological estimation in evaluating hypotheses. We apply a broad extant ecomorphological dataset to evaluate random forest machine learning classification in predicting the total ecological breadth of extinct and enigmatic hell ants. In contrast to previous hypotheses of extinction-prone arboreality, we find that hell ants were primarily leaf litter or ground-nesting and foraging predators, and by comparing ecospace occupations of hell ants and their extant analogs, we recover a signature of ecomorphological turnover across temporally and phylogenetically distinct lineages on opposing sides of the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary. This paleoecological predictive framework is applicable across lineages and may provide new avenues for testing hypotheses over deep time.
Collapse
|
3
|
Meyer MR, Jung JP, Spear JK, Araiza IF, Galway-Witham J, Williams SA. Knuckle-walking in Sahelanthropus? Locomotor inferences from the ulnae of fossil hominins and other hominoids. J Hum Evol 2023; 179:103355. [PMID: 37003245 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2022] [Revised: 03/03/2023] [Accepted: 03/03/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023]
Abstract
Because the ulna supports and transmits forces during movement, its morphology can signal aspects of functional adaptation. To test whether, like extant apes, some hominins habitually recruit the forelimb in locomotion, we separate the ulna shaft and ulna proximal complex for independent shape analyses via elliptical Fourier methods to identify functional signals. We examine the relative influence of locomotion, taxonomy, and body mass on ulna contours in Homo sapiens (n = 22), five species of extant apes (n = 33), two Miocene apes (Hispanopithecus and Danuvius), and 17 fossil hominin specimens including Sahelanthropus, Ardipithecus, Australopithecus, Paranthropus, and early Homo. Ulna proximal complex contours correlate with body mass but not locomotor patterns, while ulna shafts significantly correlate with locomotion. African apes' ulna shafts are more robust and curved than Asian apes and are unlike other terrestrial mammals (including other primates), curving ventrally rather than dorsally. Because this distinctive curvature is absent in orangutans and hylobatids, it is likely a function of powerful flexors engaged in wrist and hand stabilization during knuckle-walking, and not an adaptation to climbing or suspensory behavior. The OH 36 (purported Paranthropus boisei) and TM 266 (assigned to Sahelanthropus tchadensis) fossils differ from other hominins by falling within the knuckle-walking morphospace, and thus appear to show forelimb morphology consistent with terrestrial locomotion. Discriminant function analysis classifies both OH 36 and TM 266 with Pan and Gorilla with high posterior probability. Along with its associated femur, the TM 266 ulna shaft contours and its deep, keeled trochlear notch comprise a suite of traits signaling African ape-like quadrupedalism. While implications for the phylogenetic position and hominin status of S. tchadensis remain equivocal, this study supports the growing body of evidence indicating that S. tchadensis was not an obligate biped, but instead represents a late Miocene hominid with knuckle-walking adaptations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marc R Meyer
- Department of Anthropology, Chaffey College, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91737, USA.
| | - Jason P Jung
- Department of Biology, California State University, San Bernardino, CA 92407, USA
| | - Jeffrey K Spear
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - Isabella Fx Araiza
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - Julia Galway-Witham
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - Scott A Williams
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY 10024, USA
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Rothier PS, Fabre AC, Clavel J, Benson RBJ, Herrel A. Mammalian forelimb evolution is driven by uneven proximal-to-distal morphological diversity. eLife 2023; 12:81492. [PMID: 36700542 PMCID: PMC9908075 DOI: 10.7554/elife.81492] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2022] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Vertebrate limb morphology often reflects the environment due to variation in locomotor requirements. However, proximal and distal limb segments may evolve differently from one another, reflecting an anatomical gradient of functional specialization that has been suggested to be impacted by the timing of development. Here, we explore whether the temporal sequence of bone condensation predicts variation in the capacity of evolution to generate morphological diversity in proximal and distal forelimb segments across more than 600 species of mammals. Distal elements not only exhibit greater shape diversity, but also show stronger within-element integration and, on average, faster evolutionary responses than intermediate and upper limb segments. Results are consistent with the hypothesis that late developing distal bones display greater morphological variation than more proximal limb elements. However, the higher integration observed within the autopod deviates from such developmental predictions, suggesting that functional specialization plays an important role in driving within-element covariation. Proximal and distal limb segments also show different macroevolutionary patterns, albeit not showing a perfect proximo-distal gradient. The high disparity of the mammalian autopod, reported here, is consistent with the higher potential of development to generate variation in more distal limb structures, as well as functional specialization of the distal elements.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Priscila S Rothier
- Département Adaptations du Vivant, Muséum National d'Histoire NaturelleParisFrance
| | - Anne-Claire Fabre
- Naturhistorisches Museum BernBernSwitzerland
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of BernBernSwitzerland
- Life Sciences Department, Vertebrates Division, Natural History MuseumLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Julien Clavel
- Life Sciences Department, Vertebrates Division, Natural History MuseumLondonUnited Kingdom
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, ENTPE, UMR 5023VilleurbanneFrance
| | - Roger BJ Benson
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of OxfordOxfordUnited Kingdom
| | - Anthony Herrel
- Département Adaptations du Vivant, Muséum National d'Histoire NaturelleParisFrance
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Inferring the palaeobiology of palorchestid marsupials through analysis of mammalian humeral and femoral shape. J MAMM EVOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10914-022-09640-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
|
6
|
Brocklehurst N, Ford DP, Benson RBJ. Early origins of divergent patterns of morphological evolution on the mammal and reptile stem-lineages. Syst Biol 2022; 71:1195-1209. [PMID: 35274702 PMCID: PMC9366456 DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syac020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Revised: 02/09/2022] [Accepted: 03/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The origin of amniotes 320 million years ago signaled independence from water in vertebrates and was closely followed by divergences within the mammal and reptile stem lineages (Synapsida and Reptilia). Early members of both groups had highly similar morphologies, being superficially “lizard-like” forms with many plesiomorphies. However, the extent to which they might have exhibited divergent patterns of evolutionary change, with the potential to explain the large biological differences between their living members, is unresolved. We use a new, comprehensive phylogenetic dataset to quantify variation in rates and constraints of morphological evolution among Carboniferous–early Permian amniotes. We find evidence for an early burst of evolutionary rates, resulting in the early origins of morphologically distinctive subgroups that mostly persisted through the Cisuralian. Rates declined substantially through time, especially in reptiles. Early reptile evolution was also more constrained compared with early synapsids, exploring a more limited character state space. Postcranial innovation in particular was important in early synapsids, potentially related to their early origins of large body size. In contrast, early reptiles predominantly varied the temporal region, suggesting disparity in skull and jaw kinematics, and foreshadowing the variability of cranial biomechanics seen in reptiles today. Our results demonstrate that synapsids and reptiles underwent an early divergence of macroevolutionary patterns. This laid the foundation for subsequent evolutionary events and may be critical in understanding the substantial differences between mammals and reptiles today. Potential explanations include an early divergence of developmental processes or of ecological factors, warranting cross-disciplinary investigation. [Amniote; body size; constraint; phylogeny; rate.]
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Neil Brocklehurst
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, UK
| | - David P Ford
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, UK
| | - Roger B J Benson
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, UK
| |
Collapse
|