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Bels V, Le Floch G, Kirchhoff F, Gastebois G, Davenport J, Baguette M. Food transport in Reptilia: a comparative viewpoint. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220542. [PMID: 37839442 PMCID: PMC10577028 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0542] [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] [Received: 03/18/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Reptilia exploit a large diversity of food resources from plant materials to living mobile prey. They are among the first tetrapods that needed to drink to maintain their water homeostasis. Here were compare the feeding and drinking mechanisms in Reptilia through an empirical approach based on the available data to open perspectives in our understanding of the evolution of the various mechanisms determined in these Tetrapoda for exploiting solid and liquid food resources. This article is part of the theme issue 'Food processing and nutritional assimilation in animals'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent Bels
- Institut Systématique, Evolution, et Biodiversité (ISYEB), UMR 7205 Museum d'Histoire Naturelle (MNHN), CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université des Antilles, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Glenn Le Floch
- Institut Systématique, Evolution, et Biodiversité (ISYEB), UMR 7205 Museum d'Histoire Naturelle (MNHN), CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université des Antilles, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Florence Kirchhoff
- Institut Systématique, Evolution, et Biodiversité (ISYEB), UMR 7205 Museum d'Histoire Naturelle (MNHN), CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université des Antilles, 75005 Paris, France
| | | | - John Davenport
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Distillery Fields, North Mall, University College Cork, Ireland T23 N73K
| | - Michel Baguette
- Institut Systématique, Evolution, et Biodiversité (ISYEB), UMR 7205 Museum d'Histoire Naturelle (MNHN), CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université des Antilles, 75005 Paris, France
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale, CNRS UAR 2029, Route du CNRS, F-09200 Moulis, France
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2
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Bhat MS, Chinsamy A, Parkington J. Bone histology of Neogene angulate tortoises (Testudines: Testudinidae) from South Africa: palaeobiological and skeletochronological implications. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:230064. [PMID: 36908987 PMCID: PMC9993054 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.230064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Here we examine the tibial microstructure of modern and fossil angulate tortoises to assess the histology and growth from the late Miocene-early Pliocene, Pleistocene through to modern forms. The cross-sections of all the tibiae sampled revealed highly vascularized, uninterrupted, fibrolamellar bone tissue during early ontogeny, which suggests that early growth was fast. However, later in ontogeny, growth was slower, as indicated by the deposition of parallel-fibred bone tissue in the outer cortex, and even ceased periodically, as indicated by lines of arrested growth. Comparative analyses of the growth rates of the tortoises from different time periods showed that the tortoises from the late Miocene-early Pliocene Langebaanweg locality and from Diepkloof Rock Shelter had relatively slower growth rates under less optimal growth conditions. Additionally, these prehistoric specimens show extensive remodelling, and several generations of secondary osteons further suggest functional and/or metabolic stresses on the skeleton. Palaeoenvironmental reconstructions suggest that it was mostly cooler and drier with seasonal fluctuations in late Miocene-early Pliocene, and it is likely that Chersina responded to these conditions by having a lower rate of growth as compared with their modern counterparts, which thrive in the current prevailing more favourable Mediterranean type of climate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohd Shafi Bhat
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rhodes Gift 7701, South Africa
| | - Anusuya Chinsamy
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rhodes Gift 7701, South Africa
| | - John Parkington
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rhodes Gift 7701, South Africa
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3
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Wilson LE. Rapid growth in Late Cretaceous sea turtles reveals life history strategies similar to extant leatherbacks. PeerJ 2023; 11:e14864. [PMID: 36793890 PMCID: PMC9924133 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.14864] [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: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/17/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Modern sea turtle long bone osteohistology has been surprisingly well-studied, as it is used to understand sea turtle growth and the timing of life history events, thus informing conservation decisions. Previous histologic studies reveal two distinct bone growth patterns in extant sea turtle taxa, with Dermochelys (leatherbacks) growing faster than the cheloniids (all other living sea turtles). Dermochelys also has a unique life history compared to other sea turtles (large size, elevated metabolism, broad biogeographic distribution, etc.) that is likely linked to bone growth strategies. Despite the abundance of data on modern sea turtle bone growth, extinct sea turtle osteohistology is virtually unstudied. Here, long bone microstructure of the large, Cretaceous sea turtle Protostega gigas is examined to better understand its life history. Humeral and femoral analysis reveals bone microstructure patterns similar to Dermochelys with variable but sustained rapid growth through early ontogeny. Similarities between Progostegea and Dermochelys osteohistology suggest similar life history strategies like elevated metabolic rates with rapid growth to large body size and sexual maturity. Comparison to the more basal protostegid Desmatochelys indicates elevated growth rates are not present throughout the entire Protostegidae, but evolved in larger and more derived taxa, possibly in response to Late Cretaceous ecological changes. Given the uncertainties in the phylogenetic placement of the Protostegidae, these results either support convergent evolution towards rapid growth and elevated metabolism in both derived protostegids and dermochelyids, or a close evolutionary relationship between the two taxa. Better understanding the evolution and diversity of sea turtle life history strategies during the Late Cretaceous greenhouse climate can also impact current sea turtle conservation decisions.
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4
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Fischer V, Bennion RF, Foffa D, MacLaren JA, McCurry MR, Melstrom KM, Bardet N. Ecological signal in the size and shape of marine amniote teeth. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20221214. [PMID: 36100016 PMCID: PMC9470252 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.1214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2022] [Accepted: 08/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Amniotes have been a major component of marine trophic chains from the beginning of the Triassic to present day, with hundreds of species. However, inferences of their (palaeo)ecology have mostly been qualitative, making it difficult to track how dietary niches have changed through time and across clades. Here, we tackle this issue by applying a novel geometric morphometric protocol to three-dimensional models of tooth crowns across a wide range of raptorial marine amniotes. Our results highlight the phenomenon of dental simplification and widespread convergence in marine amniotes, limiting the range of tooth crown morphologies. Importantly, we quantitatively demonstrate that tooth crown shape and size are strongly associated with diet, whereas crown surface complexity is not. The maximal range of tooth shapes in both mammals and reptiles is seen in medium-sized taxa; large crowns are simple and restricted to a fraction of the morphospace. We recognize four principal raptorial guilds within toothed marine amniotes (durophages, generalists, flesh cutters and flesh piercers). Moreover, even though all these feeding guilds have been convergently colonized over the last 200 Myr, a series of dental morphologies are unique to the Mesozoic period, probably reflecting a distinct ecosystem structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentin Fischer
- Evolution and Diversity Dynamics Lab, Université de Liège, Liège 4000, Belgium
| | - Rebecca F. Bennion
- Evolution and Diversity Dynamics Lab, Université de Liège, Liège 4000, Belgium
- Palaeobiosphere Evolution, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Davide Foffa
- Department of Natural Sciences, National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh EH1 1JF, UK
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Jamie A. MacLaren
- Evolution and Diversity Dynamics Lab, Université de Liège, Liège 4000, Belgium
- Functional Morphology Lab, Department of Biology, Universiteit Antwerpen, Antwerpen 2610, Belgium
| | - Matthew R. McCurry
- Australian Museum Research Institute, Sydney, New South Wales 2010, Australia
- Earth and Sustainability Science Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences (BEES), University of New South Wales, Kensington, New South Wales 2052, Australia
- Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA
| | - Keegan M. Melstrom
- Engineering and Science Division, Rose State College, Midwest City, OK 73110, USA
- Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA
| | - Nathalie Bardet
- CR2P, Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie–Paris, CNRS-MNHN-SU, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris 75005, France
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5
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Klein N, Eggmaier S, Hagdorn H. The redescription of the holotype of Nothosaurus mirabilis (Diapsida, Eosauropterygia)-a historical skeleton from the Muschelkalk (Middle Triassic, Anisian) near Bayreuth (southern Germany). PeerJ 2022; 10:e13818. [PMID: 36046504 PMCID: PMC9422981 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2022] [Accepted: 07/08/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
In 2009, the historical mount of the holotype of Nothosaurus mirabilis from the Upper Muschelkalk of Oschenberg (Laineck Mountain Range, near Bayreuth, southern Germany) was disassembled and the original postcranial skeleton was reworked and remounted in find position. Its morphology is described and figured for the first time in detail. Further on, a thorough overview of the sedimentary environment and the historical activities around the Upper Muschelkalk quarries in the vicinity of Bayreuth is given. The holotype of N. mirabilis is one out of only two fairly complete nothosaur skeletons known from the Bayreuth Upper Muschelkalk and greatly emends our knowledge of the morphology of the species and the genus. It will further allow an assignment of isolated elements to this taxon. The specimen consists of an articulated and complete neck and anterior trunk vertebral column as well as several articulated parts of the anterior tail region. The sacral region is partially preserved but disarticulated. Besides vertebrae, ribs and gastral fragments, both humeri, the right femur, few zeugopodial and autopodial elements, and the right pelvic girdle are preserved. The very high neural spines of the holotype are stabilized by a supersized zygosphene-zygantrum articulation reaching far dorsally. Together with the large intercentral spaces this character suggests lateral undulation of the trunk region during fast swimming whereas propelling with the broad and wing-shaped humerus and the flat ulna was used during slower swimming. The total body length for this not fully grown individual is reconstructed as between 290 to 320 cm. Preservation, degree of completeness, and articulation of the individual is unique. The skull and shoulder girdle are both lost, whereas articulated strings of the vertebral column have turned and appendicular bones have shifted posteriorly or anteriorly, respectively, indicating water movements and possibly also scavenging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Klein
- University of Bonn, Institute of Geosciences, Paleontology, Bonn, Germany
| | | | - Hans Hagdorn
- Muschelkalkmuseum Ingelfingen, Ingelfingen, Germany
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6
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Subaqueous foraging among carnivorous dinosaurs. Nature 2022; 603:852-857. [PMID: 35322229 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04528-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Secondary aquatic adaptations evolved independently more than 30 times from terrestrial vertebrate ancestors1,2. For decades, non-avian dinosaurs were believed to be an exception to this pattern. Only a few species have been hypothesized to be partly or predominantly aquatic3-11. However, these hypotheses remain controversial12,13, largely owing to the difficulty of identifying unambiguous anatomical adaptations for aquatic habits in extinct animals. Here we demonstrate that the relationship between bone density and aquatic ecologies across extant amniotes provides a reliable inference of aquatic habits in extinct species. We use this approach to evaluate the distribution of aquatic adaptations among non-avian dinosaurs. We find strong support for aquatic habits in spinosaurids, associated with a marked increase in bone density, which precedes the evolution of more conspicuous anatomical modifications, a pattern also observed in other aquatic reptiles and mammals14-16. Spinosaurids are revealed to be aquatic specialists with surprising ecological disparity, including subaqueous foraging behaviour in Spinosaurus and Baryonyx, and non-diving habits in Suchomimus. Adaptation to aquatic environments appeared in spinosaurids during the Early Cretaceous, following their divergence from other tetanuran theropods during the Early Jurassic17.
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7
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Grigg G, Nowack J, Bicudo JEPW, Bal NC, Woodward HN, Seymour RS. Whole-body endothermy: ancient, homologous and widespread among the ancestors of mammals, birds and crocodylians. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2021; 97:766-801. [PMID: 34894040 PMCID: PMC9300183 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2020] [Revised: 11/25/2021] [Accepted: 11/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The whole‐body (tachymetabolic) endothermy seen in modern birds and mammals is long held to have evolved independently in each group, a reasonable assumption when it was believed that its earliest appearances in birds and mammals arose many millions of years apart. That assumption is consistent with current acceptance that the non‐shivering thermogenesis (NST) component of regulatory body heat originates differently in each group: from skeletal muscle in birds and from brown adipose tissue (BAT) in mammals. However, BAT is absent in monotremes, marsupials, and many eutherians, all whole‐body endotherms. Indeed, recent research implies that BAT‐driven NST originated more recently and that the biochemical processes driving muscle NST in birds, many modern mammals and the ancestors of both may be similar, deriving from controlled ‘slippage’ of Ca2+ from the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+‐ATPase (SERCA) in skeletal muscle, similar to a process seen in some fishes. This similarity prompted our realisation that the capacity for whole‐body endothermy could even have pre‐dated the divergence of Amniota into Synapsida and Sauropsida, leading us to hypothesise the homology of whole‐body endothermy in birds and mammals, in contrast to the current assumption of their independent (convergent) evolution. To explore the extent of similarity between muscle NST in mammals and birds we undertook a detailed review of these processes and their control in each group. We found considerable but not complete similarity between them: in extant mammals the ‘slippage’ is controlled by the protein sarcolipin (SLN), in birds the SLN is slightly different structurally and its role in NST is not yet proved. However, considering the multi‐millions of years since the separation of synapsids and diapsids, we consider that the similarity between NST production in birds and mammals is consistent with their whole‐body endothermy being homologous. If so, we should expect to find evidence for it much earlier and more widespread among extinct amniotes than is currently recognised. Accordingly, we conducted an extensive survey of the palaeontological literature using established proxies. Fossil bone histology reveals evidence of sustained rapid growth rates indicating tachymetabolism. Large body size and erect stature indicate high systemic arterial blood pressures and four‐chambered hearts, characteristic of tachymetabolism. Large nutrient foramina in long bones are indicative of high bone perfusion for rapid somatic growth and for repair of microfractures caused by intense locomotion. Obligate bipedality appeared early and only in whole‐body endotherms. Isotopic profiles of fossil material indicate endothermic levels of body temperature. These proxies led us to compelling evidence for the widespread occurrence of whole‐body endothermy among numerous extinct synapsids and sauropsids, and very early in each clade's family tree. These results are consistent with and support our hypothesis that tachymetabolic endothermy is plesiomorphic in Amniota. A hypothetical structure for the heart of the earliest endothermic amniotes is proposed. We conclude that there is strong evidence for whole‐body endothermy being ancient and widespread among amniotes and that the similarity of biochemical processes driving muscle NST in extant birds and mammals strengthens the case for its plesiomorphy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gordon Grigg
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Julia Nowack
- School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, James Parsons Building, Byrom Street, Liverpool, L3 3AF, U.K
| | | | | | - Holly N Woodward
- Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, OK, 74107, U.S.A
| | - Roger S Seymour
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia
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8
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Sena MVA, Bantim RAM, Saraiva AAF, Sayão JM, Oliveira GR. Shell and long-bone histology, skeletochronology, and lifestyle of Araripemys barretoi (Testudines: Pleurodira), a side-necked turtle of the Lower Cretaceous from Brazil. AN ACAD BRAS CIENC 2021; 93:e20201606. [PMID: 34378648 DOI: 10.1590/0001-3765202120201606] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Accepted: 03/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
In this study we provide a comprehensive investigation of the microanatomical and microstructural aspects of the carapace and limb bones of the Early Cretaceous side-necked turtle, Araripemys barretoi, from the Araripe Basin, Brazil. Inter-elemental histovariability reveals different secondary remodelling of the skeletal elements within the same individual. The vascularisation is scarce and mainly longitudinal, also it ceases towards the bone surface, forming an avascular parallel-fibred bone with closely spaced LAGs. These traits indicate a late ontogenetic stage and a slow growth rate for one of the two A. barretoi specimens. The high cortical thickness of the costal plate suggests an increase of the shell stiffness. The elevated relative bone wall thickness of the ulna compared to other limb bones indicates a case of local pachyosteosclerosis, possibly to improve body stability in the aquatic environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariana Valéria A Sena
- Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Geociências (PPGEOC), Departamento de Geologia, Avenida Prof. Moraes Rego, 1235, Cidade Universitária, 50670-901 Recife, PE, Brazil.,Centro Universitário da Vitória de Santo Antão, Loteamento São Vicente Ferrer, 71, Cajá, 55610-050 Vitória de Santo Antão, PE, Brazil
| | - Renan Alfredo M Bantim
- Universidade Regional do Cariri, Laboratório de Paleontologia da URCA, Rua Carolino Sucupira, s/n, Pimenta, 63105-000 Crato, CE, Brazil
| | - Antônio A F Saraiva
- Universidade Regional do Cariri, Laboratório de Paleontologia da URCA, Rua Carolino Sucupira, s/n, Pimenta, 63105-000 Crato, CE, Brazil
| | - Juliana M Sayão
- Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Laboratório de Paleobiologia e Paleogeografia Antártica, Museu Nacional, Quinta da Boa Vista s/n, São Cristóvão, 20940-040 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Gustavo R Oliveira
- Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Laboratório de Paleontologia & Sistemática, Departamento de Biologia, Rua Dom Manoel de Medeiros, s/n, Dois Irmãos, 52171-900 Recife, PE, Brazil
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9
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Palaeontological evidence reveals convergent evolution of intervertebral joint types in amniotes. Sci Rep 2020; 10:14106. [PMID: 32839497 PMCID: PMC7445751 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-70751-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2020] [Accepted: 07/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The intervertebral disc (IVD) has long been considered unique to mammals. Palaeohistological sampling of 17 mostly extinct clades across the amniote tree revealed preservation of different intervertebral soft tissue types (cartilage, probable notochord) seen in extant reptiles. The distribution of the fossilised tissues allowed us to infer the soft part anatomy of the joint. Surprisingly, we also found evidence for an IVD in fossil reptiles, including non-avian dinosaurs, ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, and marine crocodiles. Based on the fossil dataset, we traced the evolution of the amniote intervertebral joint through ancestral character state reconstruction. The IVD evolved at least twice, in mammals and in extinct diapsid reptiles. From this reptilian IVD, extant reptile groups and some non-avian dinosaurs independently evolved a synovial ball-and-socket joint. The unique birds dorsal intervertebral joint evolved from this dinosaur joint. The tuatara and some geckos reverted to the ancestral persisting notochord.
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10
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Verberk WCEP, Calosi P, Brischoux F, Spicer JI, Garland T, Bilton DT. Universal metabolic constraints shape the evolutionary ecology of diving in animals. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20200488. [PMID: 32453989 PMCID: PMC7287373 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.0488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2020] [Accepted: 04/27/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Diving as a lifestyle has evolved on multiple occasions when air-breathing terrestrial animals invaded the aquatic realm, and diving performance shapes the ecology and behaviour of all air-breathing aquatic taxa, from small insects to great whales. Using the largest dataset yet assembled, we show that maximum dive duration increases predictably with body mass in both ectotherms and endotherms. Compared to endotherms, ectotherms can remain submerged for longer, but the mass scaling relationship for dive duration is much steeper in endotherms than in ectotherms. These differences in diving allometry can be fully explained by inherent differences between the two groups in their metabolic rate and how metabolism scales with body mass and temperature. Therefore, we suggest that similar constraints on oxygen storage and usage have shaped the evolutionary ecology of diving in all air-breathing animals, irrespective of their evolutionary history and metabolic mode. The steeper scaling relationship between body mass and dive duration in endotherms not only helps explain why the largest extant vertebrate divers are endothermic rather than ectothermic, but also fits well with the emerging consensus that large extinct tetrapod divers (e.g. plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs and mosasaurs) were endothermic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wilco C E P Verberk
- Department of Animal Ecology and Ecophysiology, Radboud University, PO Box 9010, 6500 GL Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Marine Biology and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK
| | - Piero Calosi
- Marine Biology and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK
- Département de Biologie, Chimie et Géographie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, 300 Allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, Québec, Canada G5 L 3A1
| | - François Brischoux
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, UMR 7372 CNRS-La Rochelle Université, 79360 Villiers en Bois, France
| | - John I Spicer
- Marine Biology and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK
| | - Theodore Garland
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
| | - David T Bilton
- Marine Biology and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK
- Department of Zoology, University of Johannesburg, PO Box 524, Auckland Park, 2006 Johannesburg, South Africa
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11
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Madzia D, Cau A. Estimating the evolutionary rates in mosasauroids and plesiosaurs: discussion of niche occupation in Late Cretaceous seas. PeerJ 2020; 8:e8941. [PMID: 32322442 PMCID: PMC7164395 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.8941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2019] [Accepted: 03/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Observations of temporal overlap of niche occupation among Late Cretaceous marine amniotes suggest that the rise and diversification of mosasauroid squamates might have been influenced by competition with or disappearance of some plesiosaur taxa. We discuss that hypothesis through comparisons of the rates of morphological evolution of mosasauroids throughout their evolutionary history with those inferred for contemporary plesiosaur clades. We used expanded versions of two species-level phylogenetic datasets of both these groups, updated them with stratigraphic information, and analyzed using the Bayesian inference to estimate the rates of divergence for each clade. The oscillations in evolutionary rates of the mosasauroid and plesiosaur lineages that overlapped in time and space were then used as a baseline for discussion and comparisons of traits that can affect the shape of the niche structures of aquatic amniotes, such as tooth morphologies, body size, swimming abilities, metabolism, and reproduction. Only two groups of plesiosaurs are considered to be possible niche competitors of mosasauroids: the brachauchenine pliosaurids and the polycotylid leptocleidians. However, direct evidence for interactions between mosasauroids and plesiosaurs is scarce and limited only to large mosasauroids as the predators/scavengers and polycotylids as their prey. The first mosasauroids differed from contemporary plesiosaurs in certain aspects of all discussed traits and no evidence suggests that early representatives of Mosasauroidea diversified after competitions with plesiosaurs. Nevertheless, some mosasauroids, such as tylosaurines, might have seized the opportunity and occupied the niche previously inhabited by brachauchenines, around or immediately after they became extinct, and by polycotylids that decreased their phylogenetic diversity and disparity around the time the large-sized tylosaurines started to flourish.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Madzia
- Department of Evolutionary Paleobiology, Institute of Paleobiology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
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12
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Bhat MS, Chinsamy A, Parkington J. Long bone histology of
Chersina angulata
: Interelement variation and life history data. J Morphol 2019; 280:1881-1899. [DOI: 10.1002/jmor.21073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2019] [Revised: 09/20/2019] [Accepted: 10/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mohd Shafi Bhat
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of Cape Town Cape Town South Africa
| | - Anusuya Chinsamy
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of Cape Town Cape Town South Africa
| | - John Parkington
- Department of ArchaeologyUniversity of Cape Town Cape Town South Africa
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13
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Faure-Brac MG, Pelissier F, Cubo J. The influence of plane of section on the identification of bone tissue types in amniotes with implications for paleophysiological inferences. J Morphol 2019; 280:1282-1291. [DOI: 10.1002/jmor.21030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2019] [Revised: 05/28/2019] [Accepted: 06/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mathieu G. Faure-Brac
- Sorbonne Université, MNHN, CNRS, Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie-Paris (CR2P); Paris France
| | - François Pelissier
- Sorbonne Université, MNHN, CNRS, Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie-Paris (CR2P); Paris France
| | - Jorge Cubo
- Sorbonne Université, MNHN, CNRS, Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie-Paris (CR2P); Paris France
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Skeletal Bone Structure and Repair in Small Mammals, Birds, and Reptiles. Vet Clin North Am Exot Anim Pract 2019; 22:135-147. [PMID: 30872000 DOI: 10.1016/j.cvex.2019.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Bone strength depends on its structure, its composition, and the forces it is subjected to. Bone structure varies greatly between species and these differences may have clinical implications in their assessment or treatment. Fractures occur when the magnitude of the sum of forces affecting it exceeds its ultimate strength. The aim of bone healing is to recover the normal structure of the bone to maintain its normal function, but the mechanisms of bone healing differ greatly among species. This article provides a basic reference for the bone structure of small mammals, birds, and reptiles.
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15
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Molecular phylogeny of marine mites (Acariformes: Halacaridae), the oldest radiation of extant secondarily marine animals. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2018; 129:182-188. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.08.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2018] [Revised: 07/27/2018] [Accepted: 08/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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16
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Fleischle CV, Wintrich T, Sander PM. Quantitative histological models suggest endothermy in plesiosaurs. PeerJ 2018; 6:e4955. [PMID: 29892509 PMCID: PMC5994164 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.4955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2018] [Accepted: 05/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Plesiosaurs are marine reptiles that arose in the Late Triassic and survived to the Late Cretaceous. They have a unique and uniform bauplan and are known for their very long neck and hydrofoil-like flippers. Plesiosaurs are among the most successful vertebrate clades in Earth’s history. Based on bone mass decrease and cosmopolitan distribution, both of which affect lifestyle, indications of parental care, and oxygen isotope analyses, evidence for endothermy in plesiosaurs has accumulated. Recent bone histological investigations also provide evidence of fast growth and elevated metabolic rates. However, quantitative estimations of metabolic rates and bone growth rates in plesiosaurs have not been attempted before. Methods Phylogenetic eigenvector maps is a method for estimating trait values from a predictor variable while taking into account phylogenetic relationships. As predictor variable, this study employs vascular density, measured in bone histological sections of fossil eosauropterygians and extant comparative taxa. We quantified vascular density as primary osteon density, thus, the proportion of vascular area (including lamellar infillings of primary osteons) to total bone area. Our response variables are bone growth rate (expressed as local bone apposition rate) and resting metabolic rate (RMR). Results Our models reveal bone growth rates and RMRs for plesiosaurs that are in the range of birds, suggesting that plesiosaurs were endotherm. Even for basal eosauropterygians we estimate values in the range of mammals or higher. Discussion Our models are influenced by the availability of comparative data, which are lacking for large marine amniotes, potentially skewing our results. However, our statistically robust inference of fast growth and fast metabolism is in accordance with other evidence for plesiosaurian endothermy. Endothermy may explain the success of plesiosaurs consisting in their survival of the end-Triassic extinction event and their global radiation and dispersal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Corinna V Fleischle
- Steinmann-Institut für Geologie, Mineralogie und Paläontologie, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Tanja Wintrich
- Steinmann-Institut für Geologie, Mineralogie und Paläontologie, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - P Martin Sander
- Steinmann-Institut für Geologie, Mineralogie und Paläontologie, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany.,Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, USA
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17
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Wintrich T, Hayashi S, Houssaye A, Nakajima Y, Sander PM. A Triassic plesiosaurian skeleton and bone histology inform on evolution of a unique body plan. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2017; 3:e1701144. [PMID: 29242826 PMCID: PMC5729018 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1701144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2017] [Accepted: 11/16/2017] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Secondary marine adaptation is a major pattern in amniote evolution, accompanied by specific bone histological adaptations. In the aftermath of the end-Permian extinction, diverse marine reptiles evolved early in the Triassic. Plesiosauria is the most diverse and one of the longest-lived clades of marine reptiles, but its bone histology is least known among the major marine amniote clades. Plesiosaurians had a unique and puzzling body plan, sporting four evenly shaped pointed flippers and (in most clades) a small head on a long, stiffened neck. The flippers were used as hydrofoils in underwater flight. A wide temporal, morphological, and morphometric gap separates plesiosaurians from their closest relatives (basal pistosaurs, Bobosaurus). For nearly two centuries, plesiosaurians were thought to appear suddenly in the earliest Jurassic after the end-Triassic extinctions. We describe the first Triassic plesiosaurian, from the Rhaetian of Germany, and compare its long bone histology to that of later plesiosaurians sampled for this study. The new taxon is recovered as a basal member of the Pliosauridae, revealing that diversification of plesiosaurians was a Triassic event and that several lineages must have crossed into the Jurassic. Plesiosaurian histology is strikingly uniform and different from stem sauropterygians. Histology suggests the concurrent evolution of fast growth and an elevated metabolic rate as an adaptation to cruising and efficient foraging in the open sea. The new specimen corroborates the hypothesis that open ocean life of plesiosaurians facilitated their survival of the end-Triassic extinctions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanja Wintrich
- Bereich Paläontologie, Steinmann-Institut für Geologie, Mineralogie und Paläontologie, Universität Bonn, Nussallee 8, 53115 Bonn, Germany
| | - Shoji Hayashi
- Osaka Museum of Natural History, Nagai Park 1-23, Higashi-Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka 546-0034, Japan
- Division of Materials and Manufacturing Science, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamada-Oka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Alexandra Houssaye
- UMR 7179 CNRS/Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Départment Adaptations du Vivant, 57 rue Cuvier CP-55, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Yasuhisa Nakajima
- Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa-shi, Chiba 277-8564, Japan
| | - P. Martin Sander
- Bereich Paläontologie, Steinmann-Institut für Geologie, Mineralogie und Paläontologie, Universität Bonn, Nussallee 8, 53115 Bonn, Germany
- Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA
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18
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Scheyer TM, Neenan JM, Bodogan T, Furrer H, Obrist C, Plamondon M. A new, exceptionally preserved juvenile specimen of Eusaurosphargis dalsassoi (Diapsida) and implications for Mesozoic marine diapsid phylogeny. Sci Rep 2017; 7:4406. [PMID: 28667331 PMCID: PMC5493663 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-04514-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2017] [Accepted: 05/16/2017] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Recently it was suggested that the phylogenetic clustering of Mesozoic marine reptile lineages, such as thalattosaurs, the very successful fish-shaped ichthyosaurs and sauropterygians (including plesiosaurs), among others, in a so-called 'superclade' is an artefact linked to convergent evolution of morphological characters associated with a shared marine lifestyle. Accordingly, partial 'un-scoring' of the problematic phylogenetic characters was proposed. Here we report a new, exceptionally preserved and mostly articulated juvenile skeleton of the diapsid reptile, Eusaurosphargis dalsassoi, a species previously recovered within the marine reptile 'superclade', for which we now provide a revised diagnosis. Using micro-computed tomography, we show that besides having a deep skull with a short and broad rostrum, the most outstanding feature of the new specimen is extensive, complex body armour, mostly preserved in situ, along its vertebrae, ribs, and forelimbs, as well as a row of flat, keeled ventrolateral osteoderms associated with the gastralia. As a whole, the anatomical features support an essentially terrestrial lifestyle of the animal. A review of the proposed partial character 'un-scoring' using three published data matrices indicate that this approach is flawed and should be avoided, and that within the marine reptile 'superclade' E. dalsassoi potentially is the sister taxon of Sauropterygia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Torsten M Scheyer
- Universität Zürich, Paläontologisches Institut und Museum, Karl Schmid-Strasse 4, CH-8006, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - James M Neenan
- Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PW, UK
| | - Timea Bodogan
- Universität Zürich, Paläontologisches Institut und Museum, Karl Schmid-Strasse 4, CH-8006, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Heinz Furrer
- Universität Zürich, Paläontologisches Institut und Museum, Karl Schmid-Strasse 4, CH-8006, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Mathieu Plamondon
- Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Center for X-ray Analytics, Überlandstrasse 129, CH-8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland
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Lambertz M, Shelton CD, Spindler F, Perry SF. A caseian point for the evolution of a diaphragm homologue among the earliest synapsids. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2016; 1385:3-20. [PMID: 27859325 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.13264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2015] [Revised: 08/07/2016] [Accepted: 09/01/2016] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
The origin of the diaphragm remains a poorly understood yet crucial step in the evolution of terrestrial vertebrates, as this unique structure serves as the main respiratory motor for mammals. Here, we analyze the paleobiology and the respiratory apparatus of one of the oldest lineages of mammal-like reptiles: the Caseidae. Combining quantitative bone histology and functional morphological and physiological modeling approaches, we deduce a scenario in which an auxiliary ventilatory structure was present in these early synapsids. Crucial to this hypothesis are indications that at least the phylogenetically advanced caseids might not have been primarily terrestrial but rather were bound to a predominantly aquatic life. Such a lifestyle would have resulted in severe constraints on their ventilatory system, which consequently would have had to cope with diving-related problems. Our modeling of breathing parameters revealed that these caseids were capable of only limited costal breathing and, if aquatic, must have employed some auxiliary ventilatory mechanism to quickly meet their oxygen demand upon surfacing. Given caseids' phylogenetic position at the base of Synapsida and under this aquatic scenario, it would be most parsimonious to assume that a homologue of the mammalian diaphragm had already evolved about 50 Ma earlier than previously assumed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus Lambertz
- Institut für Zoologie, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany.,Sektion Herpetologie, Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, Bonn, Germany
| | - Christen D Shelton
- Steinmann-Institut für Geologie, Mineralogie und Paläontologie, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany.,Palaeobiology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rhodes Gift, South Africa
| | - Frederik Spindler
- Institut für Geologie, Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg, Freiberg, Germany.,Dinosaurier-Park Altmühltal, Denkendorf, Germany
| | - Steven F Perry
- Institut für Zoologie, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany
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20
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Klein N, Sander PM, Krahl A, Scheyer TM, Houssaye A. Diverse Aquatic Adaptations in Nothosaurus spp. (Sauropterygia)-Inferences from Humeral Histology and Microanatomy. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0158448. [PMID: 27391607 PMCID: PMC4938232 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0158448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2015] [Accepted: 06/16/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Mid-diaphyseal cortical bone tissue in humeri of Nothosaurus spp. consists of coarse parallel-fibered bone, finer and higher organized parallel-fibered bone, and lamellar bone. Vascular canals are mainly arranged longitudinally and radially in a dominantly radial system. Blood vessels are represented by simple vascular canals, incompletely lined primary osteons, and fully developed primary osteons. Nothosaurus spp. shows a variety of diaphyseal microanatomical patterns, ranging from thick to very thin-walled cortices. In the early Anisian (Lower Muschelkalk), small- and large-bodied Nothosaurus spp. generally exhibit bone mass increase (BMI). In the middle to late Anisian (Middle Muschelkalk) small-bodied nothosaurs retain BMI whereas larger-bodied forms tend to show a decrease in bone mass (BMD). During the latest Anisian to early Ladinian (Upper Muschelkalk), small- and few large-bodied nothosaurs retain BMI, whereas the majority of large-bodied forms exhibit BMD. The stratigraphically youngest nothosaurs document five microanatomical categories, two of which are unique among marine amniotes: One consists of a very heterogeneously distributed spongy periosteal organization, the other of very thin-walled cortices. The functional significance of the two unique microanatomical specializations seen in large-bodied nothosaurs is the reduction of bone mass, which minimizes inertia of the limbs, and thus saves energy during locomotion. Transitions between the various microanatomical categories are rather gradual. Our results suggest that small-bodied Nothosaurus marchicus and other, not further assignable small-bodied nothosaurs seem to have been bound to near-shore, shallow marine environments throughout their evolution. Some large-bodied Nothosaurus spp. followed the same trend but others became more active swimmers and possibly inhabited open marine environments. The variety of microanatomical patterns may be related to taxonomic differences, developmental plasticity, and possibly sexual dimorphism. Humeral microanatomy documents the diversification of nothosaur species into different environments to avoid intraclade competition as well as competition with other marine reptiles. Nothosaur microanatomy indicates that knowledge of processes involved in secondary aquatic adaptation and their interaction are more complex than previously believed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Klein
- Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart, Rosenstein 1, 70191 Stuttgart, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - P. Martin Sander
- Steinmann-Institute, Division of Paleontology, University of Bonn, Nußallee 8, 53115 Bonn, Germany
| | - Anna Krahl
- Biomechanics Research Group, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universitätsstr. 150, 44801 Bochum, Germany
| | - Torsten M. Scheyer
- Palaeontological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Karl Schmid-Strasse 4, CH-8006 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Alexandra Houssaye
- UMR 7179 CNRS/Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Département Ecologie et Gestion de la Biodiversité, 57 rue Cuvier CP-55, 75000 Paris France
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21
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Sayão JM, Bantim RAM, Andrade RCLP, Lima FJ, Saraiva AAF, Figueiredo RG, Kellner AWA. Paleohistology of Susisuchus anatoceps (Crocodylomorpha, Neosuchia): Comments on Growth Strategies and Lifestyle. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0155297. [PMID: 27149108 PMCID: PMC4858261 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0155297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2015] [Accepted: 04/27/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Susisuchus anatoceps is a neosuchian crocodylomorph lying outside the clade Eusuchia, and associated with the transition between basal and advanced neosuchians and the rise of early eusuchians. The specimen MPSC R1136 comprises a partially articulated postcranial skeleton and is only the third fossil assigned to this relevant taxon. Thin sections of a right rib and right ulna of this specimen have been cut for histological studies and provide the first paleohistological information of an advanced non-eusuchian neosuchian from South America. The cross-section of the ulna shows a thick cortex with 17 lines of arrested growth (LAGs), a few scattered vascular canals, and primary and secondary osteons. This bone has a free medullary cavity and a spongiosa is completely absent. Thin sections of the rib show that remodeling process was active when the animal died, with a thin cortex and a well-developed spongiosa. In the latter, few secondary osteons and 4 LAGs were identified. According to the observed data, Susisuchus anatoceps had a slow-growing histological microstructure pattern, which is common in crocodylomorphs. The high number of ulnar LAGs and the active remodeling process are indicative that this animal was at least a late subadult, at or past the age of sexual maturity. This contradicts previous studies that interpreted this and other Susisuchus anatoceps specimens as juveniles, and suggests that full-grown adults of this species were relatively small-bodied, comparable in size to modern dwarf crocodiles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliana M. Sayão
- Laboratório de Biodiversidade do Nordeste, Centro Acadêmico de Vitória, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco.Vitória de Santo Antão, Pernambuco, Brazil
- * E-mail:
| | - Renan A. M. Bantim
- Laboratório de Biodiversidade do Nordeste, Centro Acadêmico de Vitória, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco.Vitória de Santo Antão, Pernambuco, Brazil
| | - Rafael C. L. P. Andrade
- Laboratório de Biodiversidade do Nordeste, Centro Acadêmico de Vitória, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco.Vitória de Santo Antão, Pernambuco, Brazil
| | - Flaviana J. Lima
- Laboratório de Biodiversidade do Nordeste, Centro Acadêmico de Vitória, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco.Vitória de Santo Antão, Pernambuco, Brazil
| | | | - Rodrigo G. Figueiredo
- Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo. Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brazil
| | - Alexander W. A. Kellner
- Laboratório de Sistemática e Tafonomia de Vertebrados Fósseis, Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro.Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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22
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Klein N, Neenan JM, Scheyer TM, Griebeler EM. Growth patterns and life-history strategies in Placodontia (Diapsida: Sauropterygia). ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2015; 2:140440. [PMID: 26587259 PMCID: PMC4632572 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.140440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2014] [Accepted: 06/11/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Placodontia is a clade of durophagous, near shore marine reptiles from Triassic sediments of modern-day Europe, Middle East and China. Although much is known about their primary anatomy and palaeoecology, relatively little has been published regarding their life history, i.e. ageing, maturation and growth. Here, growth records derived from long bone histological data of placodont individuals are described and modelled to assess placodont growth and life-history strategies. Growth modelling methods are used to confirm traits documented in the growth record (age at onset of sexual maturity, age when asymptotic length was achieved, age at death, maximum longevity) and also to estimate undocumented traits. Based on these growth models, generalized estimates of these traits are established for each taxon. Overall differences in bone tissue types and resulting growth curves indicate different growth patterns and life-history strategies between different taxa of Placodontia. Psephoderma and Paraplacodus grew with lamellar-zonal bone tissue type and show growth patterns as seen in modern reptiles. Placodontia indet. aff. Cyamodus and some Placodontia indet. show a unique combination of fibrolamellar bone tissue regularly stratified by growth marks, a pattern absent in modern sauropsids. The bone tissue type of Placodontia indet. aff. Cyamodus and Placodontia indet. indicates a significantly increased basal metabolic rate when compared with modern reptiles. Double lines of arrested growth, non-annual rest lines in annuli, and subcycles that stratify zones suggest high dependence of placodont growth on endogenous and exogenous factors. Histological and modelled differences within taxa point to high individual developmental plasticity but sexual dimorphism in growth patterns and the presence of different taxa in the sample cannot be ruled out.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Klein
- State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart, Rosenstein 1, 70191 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - James M. Neenan
- Palaeontological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Karl Schmid-Strasse 4, 8006 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Torsten M. Scheyer
- Palaeontological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Karl Schmid-Strasse 4, 8006 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Eva Maria Griebeler
- Department of Ecology, Zoological Institute, University of Mainz, 55099 Mainz, Germany
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Scheyer TM, Danilov IG, Sukhanov VB, Syromyatnikova EV. The shell bone histology of fossil and extant marine turtles revisited. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/bij.12265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Torsten M. Scheyer
- Paläontologisches Institut und Museum; Universität Zürich; Karl Schmid-Strasse 4 CH-8006 Zürich Switzerland
| | - Igor G. Danilov
- Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Universitetskaya Emb., 1 St. Petersburg 199034 Russia
| | - Vladimir B. Sukhanov
- Paleontological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Profsoyuznaya Str. 123 Moscow 117997 Russia
| | - Elena V. Syromyatnikova
- Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Universitetskaya Emb., 1 St. Petersburg 199034 Russia
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24
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Houssaye A, Scheyer TM, Kolb C, Fischer V, Sander PM. A new look at ichthyosaur long bone microanatomy and histology: implications for their adaptation to an aquatic life. PLoS One 2014; 9:e95637. [PMID: 24752508 PMCID: PMC3994080 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0095637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2014] [Accepted: 03/27/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Ichthyosaurs are Mesozoic reptiles considered as active swimmers highly adapted to a fully open-marine life. They display a wide range of morphologies illustrating diverse ecological grades. Data concerning their bone microanatomical and histological features are rather limited and suggest that ichthyosaurs display a spongious, "osteoporotic-like" bone inner structure, like extant cetaceans. However, some taxa exhibit peculiar features, suggesting that the analysis of the microanatomical and histological characteristics of various ichthyosaur long bones should match the anatomical diversity and provide information about their diverse locomotor abilities and physiology. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS The material analyzed for this study essentially consists of mid-diaphyseal transverse sections from stylopod bones of various ichthyosaurs and of a few microtomographic (both conventional and synchrotron) data. The present contribution discusses the histological and microanatomical variation observed within ichthyosaurs and the peculiarities of some taxa (Mixosaurus, Pessopteryx). Four microanatomical types are described. If Mixosaurus sections differ from those of the other taxa analyzed, the other microanatomical types, characterized by the relative proportion of compact and loose spongiosa of periosteal and endochondral origin respectively, seem to rather especially illustrate variation along the diaphysis in taxa with similar microanatomical features. Our analysis also reveals that primary bone in all the ichthyosaur taxa sampled (to the possible exception of Mixosaurus) is spongy in origin, that cyclical growth is a common pattern among ichthyosaurs, and confirms the previous assumptions of high growth rates in ichthyosaurs. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE The occurrence of two types of remodelling patterns along the diaphysis, characterized by bone mass decrease and increase respectively is described for the first time. It raises questions about the definition of the osseous microanatomical specializations bone mass increase and osteoporosis, notably based on the processes involved, and reveals the difficulty in determining the true occurrence of these osseous specializations in ichthyosaurs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Houssaye
- Steinmann-Institut für Geologie, Mineralogie und Paläontologie, Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Torsten M. Scheyer
- Paläontologisches Institut und Museum der Universität Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Christian Kolb
- Paläontologisches Institut und Museum der Universität Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | | | - P. Martin Sander
- Steinmann-Institut für Geologie, Mineralogie und Paläontologie, Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany
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25
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Lindgren J, Sjövall P, Carney RM, Uvdal P, Gren JA, Dyke G, Schultz BP, Shawkey MD, Barnes KR, Polcyn MJ. Skin pigmentation provides evidence of convergent melanism in extinct marine reptiles. Nature 2014; 506:484-8. [PMID: 24402224 DOI: 10.1038/nature12899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2013] [Accepted: 11/22/2013] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Throughout the animal kingdom, adaptive colouration serves critical functions ranging from inconspicuous camouflage to ostentatious sexual display, and can provide important information about the environment and biology of a particular organism. The most ubiquitous and abundant pigment, melanin, also has a diverse range of non-visual roles, including thermoregulation in ectotherms. However, little is known about the functional evolution of this important biochrome through deep time, owing to our limited ability to unambiguously identify traces of it in the fossil record. Here we present direct chemical evidence of pigmentation in fossilized skin, from three distantly related marine reptiles: a leatherback turtle, a mosasaur and an ichthyosaur. We demonstrate that dark traces of soft tissue in these fossils are dominated by molecularly preserved eumelanin, in intimate association with fossilized melanosomes. In addition, we suggest that contrary to the countershading of many pelagic animals, at least some ichthyosaurs were uniformly dark-coloured in life. Our analyses expand current knowledge of pigmentation in fossil integument beyond that of feathers, allowing for the reconstruction of colour over much greater ranges of extinct taxa and anatomy. In turn, our results provide evidence of convergent melanism in three disparate lineages of secondarily aquatic tetrapods. Based on extant marine analogues, we propose that the benefits of thermoregulation and/or crypsis are likely to have contributed to this melanisation, with the former having implications for the ability of each group to exploit cold environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johan Lindgren
- Department of Geology, Lund University, SE-223 62 Lund, Sweden
| | - Peter Sjövall
- SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, Chemistry, Materials and Surfaces, SE-501 15 Borås, Sweden
| | - Ryan M Carney
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02906, USA
| | - Per Uvdal
- 1] MAX-IV laboratory, Lund University, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden [2] Chemical Physics, Department of Chemistry, Lund University, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - Johan A Gren
- Department of Geology, Lund University, SE-223 62 Lund, Sweden
| | - Gareth Dyke
- 1] Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK [2] Institute for Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
| | - Bo Pagh Schultz
- MUSERUM, Natural History Division, Havnevej 14, 7800 Skive, Denmark
| | - Matthew D Shawkey
- Integrated Bioscience Program, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio 44325, USA
| | | | - Michael J Polcyn
- Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Sciences, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas 75275, USA
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Houssaye A, Lindgren J, Pellegrini R, Lee AH, Germain D, Polcyn MJ. Microanatomical and histological features in the long bones of Mosasaurine mosasaurs (Reptilia, Squamata)--implications for aquatic adaptation and growth rates. PLoS One 2013; 8:e76741. [PMID: 24146919 PMCID: PMC3797777 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0076741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2013] [Accepted: 08/23/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background During their evolution in the Late Cretaceous, mosasauroids attained a worldwide distribution, accompanied by a marked increase in body size and open ocean adaptations. This transition from land-dwellers to highly marine-adapted forms is readily apparent not only at the gross anatomic level but also in their inner bone architecture, which underwent profound modifications. Methodology/Principal Findings The present contribution describes, both qualitatively and quantitatively, the internal organization (microanatomy) and tissue types and characteristics (histology) of propodial and epipodial bones in one lineage of mosasauroids; i.e., the subfamily Mosasaurinae. By using microanatomical and histological data from limb bones in combination with recently acquired knowledge on the inner structure of ribs and vertebrae, and through comparisons with extant squamates and semi-aquatic to fully marine amniotes, we infer possible implications on mosasaurine evolution, aquatic adaptation, growth rates, and basal metabolic rates. Notably, we observe the occurrence of an unusual type of parallel-fibered bone, with large and randomly shaped osteocyte lacunae (otherwise typical of fibrous bone) and particular microanatomical features in Dallasaurus, which displays, rather than a spongious inner organization, bone mass increase in its humeri and a tubular organization in its femora and ribs. Conclusions/Significance The dominance of an unusual type of parallel-fibered bone suggests growth rates and, by extension, basal metabolic rates intermediate between that of the extant leatherback turtle, Dermochelys, and those suggested for plesiosaur and ichthyosaur reptiles. Moreover, the microanatomical features of the relatively primitive genus Dallasaurus differ from those of more derived mosasaurines, indicating an intermediate stage of adaptation for a marine existence. The more complete image of the various microanatomical trends observed in mosasaurine skeletal elements supports the evolutionary convergence between this lineage of secondarily aquatically adapted squamates and cetaceans in the ecological transition from a coastal to a pelagic lifestyle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Houssaye
- Steinmann Institut für Geologie, Paläontologie und Mineralogie, Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | | | | | - Andrew H. Lee
- Department of Anatomy, Midwestern University, Glendale, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Damien Germain
- UMR7207 CNRS-MNHN-UPMC, Département Histoire de la Terre, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France
| | - Michael J. Polcyn
- Huffington Department of Earth Sciences, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, United States of America
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Maffucci F, Annona G, de Girolamo P, Bologna MA, Meomartino L, Montesano A, Bentivegna F, Hochscheid S. Bone density in the loggerhead turtle: functional implications for stage specific aquatic habits. J Zool (1987) 2013. [DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- F. Maffucci
- Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn; Naples Italy
- Dipartimento di Scienze; Università Roma Tre; Rome Italy
| | - G. Annona
- Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn; Naples Italy
| | - P. de Girolamo
- Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria e Produzioni animali; Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II; Naples Italy
| | - M. A. Bologna
- Dipartimento di Scienze; Università Roma Tre; Rome Italy
| | - L. Meomartino
- Centro Interdipartimentale di Radiologia Veterinaria; Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II; Naples Italy
| | - A. Montesano
- Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria e Produzioni animali; Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II; Naples Italy
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Krahl A, Klein N, Sander PM. Evolutionary implications of the divergent long bone histologies of Nothosaurus and Pistosaurus (Sauropterygia, Triassic). BMC Evol Biol 2013; 13:123. [PMID: 23773234 PMCID: PMC3694513 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-13-123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2012] [Accepted: 06/07/2013] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Eosauropterygians consist of two major clades, the Nothosauroidea of the Tethysian Middle Triassic (e.g., Nothosaurus) and the Pistosauroidea. The Pistosauroidea include rare Triassic forms (Pistosauridae) and the Plesiosauria of the Jurassic and Cretaceous. Long bones of Nothosaurus and Pistosaurus from the Muschelkalk (Middle Triassic) of Germany and France and a femur of the Lower Jurassic Plesiosaurus dolichodeirus were studied histologically and microanatomically to understand the evolution of locomotory adaptations, patterns of growth and life history in these two lineages. Results We found that the cortex of adult Nothosaurus long bones consists of lamellar zonal bone. Large Upper Muschelkalk humeri of large-bodied Nothosaurus mirabilis and N. giganteus differ from the small Lower Muschelkalk (Nothosaurus marchicus/N. winterswijkensis) humeri by a striking microanatomical specialization for aquatic tetrapods: the medullary cavity is much enlarged and the cortex is reduced to a few millimeters in thickness. Unexpectedly, the humeri of Pistosaurus consist of continuously deposited, radially vascularized fibrolamellar bone tissue like in the Plesiosaurus sample. Plesiosaurus shows intense Haversian remodeling, which has never been described in Triassic sauropterygians. Conclusions The generally lamellar zonal bone tissue of nothosaur long bones indicates a low growth rate and suggests a low basal metabolic rate. The large triangular cross section of large-bodied Nothosaurus from the Upper Muschelkalk with their large medullary region evolved to withstand high bending loads. Nothosaurus humerus morphology and microanatomy indicates the evolution of paraxial front limb propulsion in the Middle Triassic, well before its convergent evolution in the Plesiosauria in the latest Triassic. Fibrolamellar bone tissue, as found in Pistosaurus and Plesiosaurus, suggests a high growth rate and basal metabolic rate. The presence of fibrolamellar bone tissue in Pistosaurus suggests that these features had already evolved in the Pistosauroidea by the Middle Triassic, well before the plesiosaurs radiated. Together with a relatively large body size, a high basal metabolic rate probably was the key to the invasion of the Pistosauroidea of the pelagic habitat in the Middle Triassic and the success of the Plesiosauria in the Jurassic and Cretaceous.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Krahl
- Division of Paleontology, Steinmann Institute, University of Bonn, Nussallee 8, 53115 Bonn, Germany.
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Meier PS, Bickelmann C, Scheyer TM, Koyabu D, Sánchez-Villagra MR. Evolution of bone compactness in extant and extinct moles (Talpidae): exploring humeral microstructure in small fossorial mammals. BMC Evol Biol 2013; 13:55. [PMID: 23442022 PMCID: PMC3599842 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-13-55] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2012] [Accepted: 02/19/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Talpids include forms with different degree of fossoriality, with major specializations in the humerus in the case of the fully fossorial moles. We studied the humeral microanatomy of eleven extant and eight extinct talpid taxa of different lifestyles and of two non-fossorial outgroups and examined the effects of size and phylogeny. We tested the hypothesis that bone microanatomy is different in highly derived humeri of fossorial taxa than in terrestrial and semi-aquatic ones, likely due to special mechanical strains to which they are exposed to during digging. This study is the first comprehensive examination of histological parameters in an ecologically diverse and small-sized mammalian clade. RESULTS No pattern of global bone compactness was found in the humeri of talpids that could be related to biomechanical specialization, phylogeny or size. The transition zone from the medullary cavity to the cortical compacta was larger and the ellipse ratio smaller in fossorial talpids than in non-fossorial talpids. No differences were detected between the two distantly related fossorial clades, Talpini and Scalopini. CONCLUSIONS At this small size, the overall morphology of the humerus plays a predominant role in absorbing the load, and microanatomical features such as an increase in bone compactness are less important, perhaps due to insufficient gravitational effects. The ellipse ratio of bone compactness shows relatively high intraspecific variation, and therefore predictions from this ratio based on single specimens are invalid.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia S Meier
- Paläontologisches Institut und Museum, Universität Zürich, Karl Schmid-Strasse 4, Zürich, CH-8006, Switzerland
| | - Constanze Bickelmann
- Paläontologisches Institut und Museum, Universität Zürich, Karl Schmid-Strasse 4, Zürich, CH-8006, Switzerland
- Current address: Museum für Naturkunde-Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions-und Biodiversitätsforschung, Invalidenstrasse 43, Berlin, D-10115, Germany
| | - Torsten M Scheyer
- Paläontologisches Institut und Museum, Universität Zürich, Karl Schmid-Strasse 4, Zürich, CH-8006, Switzerland
| | - Daisuke Koyabu
- Paläontologisches Institut und Museum, Universität Zürich, Karl Schmid-Strasse 4, Zürich, CH-8006, Switzerland
| | - Marcelo R Sánchez-Villagra
- Paläontologisches Institut und Museum, Universität Zürich, Karl Schmid-Strasse 4, Zürich, CH-8006, Switzerland
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