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Hernández-Nieto S, Ziermann-Canabarro JM, Lukas P. Developmental sequence of the chondrocranium in the obligate carnivorous larvae of Lepidobatrachus laevis (Amphibia: Ceratophryidae). Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2024. [PMID: 39030935 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2024] [Revised: 06/17/2024] [Accepted: 06/18/2024] [Indexed: 07/22/2024]
Abstract
The vertebrate head and its skull represent a significant innovation that has played a key role in the evolutionary and ecological success of vertebrates. For a global and integral understanding of the evolution of the head skeleton, it is essential to have reliable information on the development of chondrocranium in a wide range of vertebrate species. Therefore, we studied the cranial chondrogenesis of the larva of the Budgett frog, Lepidobatrachus laevis (Ceratophryidae, Neobatrachia). We studied the development using several methods, including histological preparation of transverse sections of the chondrocranium, morphological analysis of three different states of development (mesenchymal aggregation, differentiation, and chondrification), and three-dimensional digital reconstructions. As a result, we observed that the Anlage of the chondrocranium at Gosner stage 19 is laterally compressed, that is, it is initially higher than wide. It gradually flattens, enlarges, and differentiates until reaching a very wide and flat shape at Gosner stage 26. Furthermore, we show that the chondrocranial development of L. laevis takes place in a mosaic pattern, which differs to nontetrapod vertebrates in which an anterior to posterior gradient of chondrification is observed. We identified 19 developmental stages in L. laevis according to the chondrification state of its cranial structures. The first element reaching the differentiation-into-chondroblast stage is the hypobranchial plate of the branchial basket, and chondrification, that is, final differentiation, occurs simultaneously in several structures of the neurocranium and viscerocranium. We hypothesize that the rapid chondrification of L. laevis' chondrocranium is an adaptation to the semi-arid climate conditions from its type locality, El Gran Chaco in South America. Due to the only temporary availability of suitable water accumulations this apparent accelerated development would make sense to ensure the tadpoles are froglets by the time the water body disappears. Here, we provide novel information on chondrocranial development in L. laevis. We compare our results to the developmental sequences, previously known from other vertebrate taxa, particularly within the amphibian phylogeny, in an attempt to understand developmental variability and the evolutionary history of the vertebrate head skeleton.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Paul Lukas
- Institute of Zoology and Evolutionary Research, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
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Alamoudi MO, Abdel-Rahman EH, Hassan SSM. Ontogenetic and sexual patterns in the cranial system of the brown rat ( Rattus norvegicus Berkenhout, 1769) from Hai'l region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Saudi J Biol Sci 2021; 28:2466-2475. [PMID: 33911960 PMCID: PMC8071891 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.01.048] [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: 11/22/2020] [Revised: 01/03/2021] [Accepted: 01/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The brown rat, Rattus norvegicus, is a model system in ecological and systematic science, but little is known about its skull morphology and developmental patterns. Our objective was to investigate the cranial ontogenetic patterns in the brown rats, from Hai'l, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Quantitative analysis of sexual shape dimorphisms (SShD) and age-classes were investigated using 28 landmarks plotted on two-dimensional images for dorsal and ventral views. Our results detected statistically significant sexual dimorphism (P-value <0.0001) in cranial shape and size for R. norvegicus. Nevertheless, males are much larger than females and display variation around the brain-case, while females tend to show greater variation around the occipital bone. In addition, there are subtle age-classes during ontogeny in the skull. However, the older age classes (i.e. age classes 3 and 4) represent well-built crania with an extended case of the brain and shortest nasal, while youngest specimens represent an elongated snout of minimum crania. Future GMM research should therefore examine the pre-defined age-classes and sex-related individuals in brown rat skulls in relation to genotype to characterize trends in skull shape variation that may affect teeth, zygomatic arches, brain case, and compartments of muscle attachments through its ecological patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muna O Alamoudi
- Biology Department, Faculty of Science, University of Hai'l PO Box 2240, Hai'l 81451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Eitimad H Abdel-Rahman
- Biology Department, Faculty of Science, University of Hai'l PO Box 2240, Hai'l 81451, Saudi Arabia.,Natural History Museum, Faculty of Science, University of Khartoum, 45 P.O.Box, Khartoum, Sudan
| | - Sami Saeed M Hassan
- Biology Department, Faculty of Science, University of Hai'l PO Box 2240, Hai'l 81451, Saudi Arabia.,Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, University of Khartoum, 45 P.O.Box, Khartoum, Sudan
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White HE, Clavel J, Tucker AS, Goswami A. A comparison of metrics for quantifying cranial suture complexity. J R Soc Interface 2020; 17:20200476. [PMID: 33023399 PMCID: PMC7653371 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2020.0476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2020] [Accepted: 09/08/2020] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Cranial sutures play critical roles in facilitating postnatal skull development and function. The diversity of function is reflected in the highly variable suture morphology and complexity. Suture complexity has seldom been studied, resulting in little consensus on the most appropriate approach for comparative, quantitative analyses. Here, we provide the first comprehensive comparison of current approaches for quantifying suture morphology, using a wide range of two-dimensional suture outlines across extinct and extant mammals (n = 79). Five complexity metrics (sinuosity index (SI), suture complexity index (SCI), fractal dimension (FD) box counting, FD madogram and a windowed short-time Fourier transform with power spectrum density (PSD) calculation) were compared with each other and with the shape variation in the dataset. Analyses of suture shape demonstrate that the primary axis of variation captured attributes other than complexity, supporting the use of a complexity metric over raw shape data for sutural complexity analyses. Each approach captured different aspects of complexity. PSD successfully discriminates different sutural features, such as looping patterns and interdigitation amplitude and number, while SCI best-captured variation in interdigitation number alone. Therefore, future studies should consider the relevant attributes for their question when selecting a metric for comparative analysis of suture variation, function and evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather E. White
- Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
- Centre for Craniofacial and Regenerative Biology, King's College LondonSE1 9RT, UK
- Division of Biosciences, University College LondonWC1E 6DE, UK
| | - Julien Clavel
- Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
- Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, ENTPE, UMR 5023 LEHNA, F-69622, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Abigail S. Tucker
- Centre for Craniofacial and Regenerative Biology, King's College LondonSE1 9RT, UK
| | - Anjali Goswami
- Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
- Division of Biosciences, University College LondonWC1E 6DE, UK
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Zherebtsova OV, Potapova EG. Pathways and Level of Morphological Adaptations in Modern Diatomyidae and Ctenodactylidae (Rodentia). BIOL BULL+ 2020. [DOI: 10.1134/s1062359019070124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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On the growth of the largest living rodent: Postnatal skull and dental shape changes in capybara species (Hydrochoerus spp.). Mamm Biol 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mambio.2016.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
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First Approach to the Paleobiology of Extinct Prospaniomys (Rodentia, Hystricognathi, Octodontoidea) Through Head Muscle Reconstruction and the Study of Craniomandibular Shape Variation. J MAMM EVOL 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s10914-015-9291-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Tröscher A, Maier W, Ruf I, Hugot JP, Böhme M. The epitensoric chorda tympani of Laonastes aenigmamus (Rodentia, Diatomyidae) and its phylogenetic implications. Mamm Biol 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mambio.2014.12.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Herrel A, Redding CL, Meyers JJ, Nishikawa KC. The scaling of tongue projection in the veiled chameleon, Chamaeleo calyptratus. ZOOLOGY 2014; 117:227-36. [DOI: 10.1016/j.zool.2014.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2013] [Revised: 12/13/2013] [Accepted: 01/25/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Laakkonen J, Kankaanpää T, Corfe IJ, Jernvall J, Soveri T, Keovichit K, Hugot JP. Gastrointestinal and Dental Morphology of Herbivorous Mammals: Where does the Laotian Rock Rat Fit? ANN ZOOL FENN 2014. [DOI: 10.5735/086.051.0216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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Cox PG, Kirkham J, Herrel A. Masticatory biomechanics of the Laotian rock rat, Laonastes aenigmamus, and the function of the zygomaticomandibularis muscle. PeerJ 2013; 1:e160. [PMID: 24058888 PMCID: PMC3775629 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2013] [Accepted: 08/23/2013] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The Laotian rock rat, Laonastes aenigmamus, is one of the most recently discovered species of rodent, and displays a cranial morphology that is highly specialised. The rostrum of L. aenigmamus is exceptionally elongate and bears a large attachment site for the infraorbital portion of the zygomaticomandibularis muscle (IOZM), which is particularly well-developed in this species. In this study, we used finite element analysis to investigate the biomechanical performance of the Laotian rock rat cranium and to elucidate the function of the IOZM. A finite element model of the skull of L. aenigmamus was constructed and solved for biting on each of the teeth (incisors, premolar and molars). Further load cases were created and solved in which the origin of the IOZM had been moved anteriorly and posteriorly along the rostrum. Finally, a set of load cases were produced in which the IOZM was removed entirely, and its force was redistributed between the remaining masticatory muscles. The analysis showed that, during biting, the most stressed areas of the skull were the zygomatic and orbital regions. Compared to other rodents, L. aenigmamus is highly efficient at incisor gnawing, but less efficient at molar chewing. However, a relatively constant bite force across the molar tooth row may be an adaptation to folivory. Movement of the origin of the IOZM had little on the patterns of von Mises stresses, or the overall stress experienced by the cranium. However, removal of the IOZM had a substantial effect on the total deformation experienced by the skull. In addition, the positioning and presence of the IOZM had large impact on bite force. Moving the IOZM origin to the anterior tip of the rostrum led to a substantially reduced bite force at all teeth. This was hypothesised to be a result of the increasing horizontal component to the pull of this muscle as it is moved anteriorly along the rostrum. Removal of the IOZM also resulted in reduced bite force, even when the total input muscle force was maintained at the same level. It was thus concluded that the function of the IOZM in L. aenigmamus is to increase bite force whilst reducing cranial deformation. If the IOZM can be shown to have this function in other rodent groups, this may help explain the evolution of this muscle, and may also provide an understanding of why it has evolved independently several times within rodents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip G Cox
- Centre for Anatomical and Human Sciences, Hull York Medical School , University of Hull, Hull , UK
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