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Lang MM, López-Aguirre C, Schroeder L, Silcox MT. Endocranial shape variation and allometry in Euarchontoglires. Sci Rep 2024; 14:17901. [PMID: 39095435 PMCID: PMC11297022 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-68390-y] [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: 02/16/2024] [Accepted: 07/23/2024] [Indexed: 08/04/2024] Open
Abstract
While brain size in primates and their relatives within Euarchontoglires is well-studied, less research has examined brain shape, or the allometric trajectories that underlie the relationship between size and shape. Defining these patterns is key to understanding evolutionary trends. 3D geometric morphometric analyses of endocranial shape were performed on 140 species of extant euarchontoglirans using digital cranial endocasts. Principal component analyses on Procrustes shape variables show a clear phylogenetic pattern in endocranial shape, supported by an ANOVA which identified significant differences in shape among several groups (e.g., Platyrrhini, Strepsirrhini, Scandentia, Rodentia, and Lagomorpha). ANOVAs of shape and size also indicate that allometry has a small but significant impact on endocranial shape across Euarchontoglires, with homogeneity of slopes tests finding significant differences in the scaling relationship between shape and size among these same groups. While most of these clades possess a distinct endocranial morphotype, the highly derived platyrrhines display the strongest relationship between size and shape. Rodents show the most diversity in endocranial shape, potentially attributed to their comparatively weak relationship between shape and size. These results suggest fundamental differences in how shape and size covary among Euarchontoglires, which may have facilitated the adaptive radiations that characterize members of this group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madlen M Lang
- University of Toronto Scarborough, Scarborough, ON, M1C 1A4, Canada.
| | | | - Lauren Schroeder
- University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6, Canada
- Human Evolution Research Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, 7701, South Africa
| | - Mary T Silcox
- University of Toronto Scarborough, Scarborough, ON, M1C 1A4, Canada
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Decoupled Patterns of Diversity and Disparity Characterize an Ecologically Specialized Lineage of Neotropical Cricetids. Evol Biol 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s11692-022-09596-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
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3
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Quiroga-Carmona M, Teta P, D’Elía G. The skull variation of the olive field mouse Abrothrix olivacea (Cricetidae: Abrotrichini) is localized and correlated to the ecogeographic features of its geographic distribution. PeerJ 2023; 11:e15200. [PMID: 37077313 PMCID: PMC10108858 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.15200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 03/17/2023] [Indexed: 04/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The relationship between phenotypic variation and landscape heterogeneity has been extensively studied to understand how the environment influences patterns of morphological variation and differentiation of populations. Several studies had partially addressed intraspecific variation in the sigmodontine rodent Abrothrix olivacea, focusing on the characterization of physiological aspects and cranial variation. However, these had been conducted based on geographically restricted populational samples, and in most cases, the aspects characterized were not explicitly contextualized with the environmental configurations in which the populations occurred. Here, the cranial variation of A. olivacea was characterized by recording twenty cranial measurements in 235 individuals from 64 localities in Argentina and Chile, which widely cover the geographic and environmental distribution of this species. The morphological variation was analyzed and ecogeographically contextualized using multivariate statistical analyses, which also included climatic and ecological variation at the localities where the individuals were sampled. Results indicate that the cranial variation of this species is mostly clustered in localized patterns associated to the types of environments, and that the levels of cranial differentiation are higher among the populations from arid and treeless zones. Additionally, the ecogeographical association of cranial size variation indicate that this species does not follow Bergmann's rule and that island populations exhibit larger cranial sizes compared to their continental counterparts distributed at the same latitudes. These results suggest that cranial differentiation among the populations of this species is not homogeneous throughout its geographic distribution, and that the patterns of morphological differentiation are also not completely consistent with the patterns of genetic structuring that have been described recently. Finally, the analyses performed to ponder morphological differentiation among populations suggest that the contribution of genetic drift in the formation of these patterns can be ruled out among Patagonian populations, and that the selective effect imposed by the environment could better explain them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcial Quiroga-Carmona
- Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Evolutivas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Región de los Ríos, Chile
- Colección de Mamíferos, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Región de los Ríos, Chile
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska—Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, United States
| | - Pablo Teta
- División de Mastozoología, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia”, Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Guillermo D’Elía
- Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Evolutivas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Región de los Ríos, Chile
- Colección de Mamíferos, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Región de los Ríos, Chile
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Brito J, Koch C, Tinoco N, Pardiñas UFJ. A new species of Mindomys (Rodentia, Cricetidae) with remarks on external traits as indicators of arboreality in sigmodontine rodents. EVOLUTIONARY SYSTEMATICS 2022. [DOI: 10.3897/evolsyst.6.76879] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The diversity of the oryzomyine rat Mindomys (Cricetidae, Sigmodontinae, Oryzomyini), is doubled here with the description of a new species from the remote Cordillera de Kutukú (Ecuador). The novel form can be easily differentiated from Mindomys hammondi –type species of the genus– by a large set of anatomical traits including, among others, larger jugals, parietal “wings” extending to zygomatic roots, larger otic capsules, well-exposed petrosals, narrow zygomatic plates almost without upper free borders, foramen magnum caudally oriented, larger molars, and accessory root of first upper molar present. Until now, the records of Mindomys were restricted to western Andean foothills. The material from Kutukú highlights an Amazonian species and reinforces the valuable biological significance of isolated mountain ranges in eastern Ecuador. Since Mindomys shows some external traits classically related to arboreal life, here we present a brief reappraisal of this poorly explored topic. A partially neglected anatomical system in sigmodontine studies, the fore feet, encloses crucial information reflecting arboreality.
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Neves CN, Pillay N. Variation in brain volume in nine populations and three taxa of the African striped mouse Rhabdomys. J Morphol 2022; 283:618-636. [PMID: 35175641 DOI: 10.1002/jmor.21463] [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: 07/08/2021] [Revised: 01/30/2022] [Accepted: 02/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Brain size can vary between populations in different environments because of different selection pressures on behaviours, such as learning and memory, related to spatial, social and environmental differences. We investigated the variation in total and broad-scale regional brain size in the murid rodent genus Rhabdomys from different environments. We assessed taxon-, population- and sex-level differences in total and regional brain volume in three populations each of three taxa (arid-occurring R. pumilio and mesic-occurring R. dilectus chakae and R. d. dilectus) originating across southern Africa. We μCT-scanned crania obtained from museums in South Africa and used digital software to create endocasts and extract total endocranium and regional volumes: olfactory bulb, anterior cerebrum, posterior cerebrum, cerebellum volume, and petrosal volume. Total endocranial volume scaled with basal skull length and all region volumes scaled with total endocranial volume. We found taxon-, and population-level differences in total endocranial volume. Relative anterior and posterior cerebrum volume did not differ significantly between taxa or populations, but relative cerebellum volume was larger in arid populations than mesic populations. Relative olfactory bulb volume was larger in mesic R. dilectus than in the R. pumilio, but petrosal lobule volume was larger in R. pumilio populations than in R. dilectus. Males had larger total endocranial volumes than females. Drivers of larger total endocranial volumes in R. pumilio are not immediately clear from our results. Environmental seasonality of food availability, cognitive buffering and locomotion may all correlate with total endocranial volume size, whereas the influence of sociality cannot be excluded. The environment and degree of semi-arboreality are likely driving variation in cerebellum, olfactory bulb and petrosal lobule volumes. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Candice Nikita Neves
- School of Animal, Plant, and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Ave, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Neville Pillay
- School of Animal, Plant, and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Ave, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, South Africa
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Terray L, Denys C, Goodman SM, Soarimalala V, Lalis A, Cornette R. Skull morphological evolution in Malagasy endemic Nesomyinae rodents. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0263045. [PMID: 35120158 PMCID: PMC8815910 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2020] [Accepted: 01/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Madagascar is a large island to the south-east of Africa and in many ways continental in size and ecological complexity. Here we aim to define how skull morphology of an endemic and monophyletic clade of rodents (sub-family Nesomyinae), that show considerable morphological variation, have evolved and how their disparity is characterized in context of the geographical and ecological complexity of the island. We performed a two-dimensional geometric morphometric analysis on 370 dorsal and 399 ventral skull images of 19 species (comprising all nine extant endemic genera) and tested the influence of three ecological parameters (climate, locomotor habitat and nychthemeral cycle) in a phylogenetic context on size and shape. The results indicate that skull shape appears to importantly reflect phylogeny, whereas skull size does not carry a significant phylogenetic signal. Skull shape is significantly influenced by climate while, skull size is not impacted by any of the ecological factors tested, which is controversial to expectations in an insular context. In conclusion, Nesomyinae must have evolved under unusual types of local constraints, preventing this radiation from demonstrating strong ecological release.
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Affiliation(s)
- Léa Terray
- Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, SU, EPHE, UA, CP 51, Paris, France
| | - Christiane Denys
- Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, SU, EPHE, UA, CP 51, Paris, France
- * E-mail:
| | - Steven M. Goodman
- Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, United States of America
- Association Vahatra, Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | - Voahangy Soarimalala
- Association Vahatra, Antananarivo, Madagascar
- Institut des Sciences et Techniques de l’Environnement, University of Fianarantsoa, Fianarantsoa, Madagascar
| | - Aude Lalis
- Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, SU, EPHE, UA, CP 51, Paris, France
| | - Raphaël Cornette
- Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, SU, EPHE, UA, CP 51, Paris, France
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Mattos ID, Zimbres B, Marinho-Filho J. Habitat Specificity Modulates the Response of Small Mammals to Habitat Fragmentation, Loss, and Quality in a Neotropical Savanna. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.751315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Landscape conversion of natural environments into agriculture and pasture are driving a marked biodiversity decline in the tropics. Consequences of fragmentation might depend upon habitat amount in the landscape, while the quality of remnants can also affect some species. These factors have been poorly studied in relation to different spatial scales. Furthermore, the impacts of these human-driven alterations may go beyond species loss, possibly causing a loss of ecosystem function and services. In this study, we investigated how changes in landscape configuration (patch size and isolation), habitat loss (considering a landscape gradient of 10, 25, and 40% of remnant forest cover), and habitat quality (forest structure) affect small mammal abundance, richness, taxonomic/functional diversity, and species composition in fragmented landscapes of semideciduous forests in the Brazilian Cerrado. Analyses were performed separately for habitat generalists and forest specialists. We live-trapped small mammals and measured habitat quality descriptors four times in 36 forest patches over the years 2018 and 2019, encompassing both rainy and dry seasons, with a total capture effort of 45,120 trap-nights. Regression analyses indicated that the effect of landscape configuration was not dependent on the proportion of habitat amount in the landscape to determine small mammal assemblages. However, both patch size and habitat loss impacted different aspects of the assemblages in distinct ways. Smaller patches were mainly linked to an overall increase in small mammal abundance, while the abundance of habitat generalists was also negatively affected by habitat amount. Generalist species richness was determined by the proportion of habitat amount in the landscape. Specialist richness was influenced by patch forest quality only, suggesting that species with more demanding habitat requirements might respond to fragmentation and habitat loss at finer scales. Taxonomic or functional diversity were not influenced by landscape structure or habitat quality. However, patch size and habitat amount in the landscape were the major drivers of change in small mammal species composition in semideciduous forests in the Brazilian savanna.
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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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Camargo NF, Reis GG, Camargo ACL, Nardoto GB, Kneitel JM, Vieira EM. Seasonal isotopic niche of a rodent: High between‐individual variation but no changes in individual niche width during the rich‐resource period. Biotropica 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12921] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nícholas F. Camargo
- Departamento de Ecologia Instituto de Ciências Biológicas Universidade de Brasília Brasília DF Brazil
| | - Guilherme G. Reis
- Departamento de Ecologia Instituto de Ciências Biológicas Universidade de Brasília Brasília DF Brazil
| | - Anna Carla L. Camargo
- Departamento de Ecologia Instituto de Ciências Biológicas Universidade de Brasília Brasília DF Brazil
| | - Gabriela B. Nardoto
- Departamento de Ecologia Instituto de Ciências Biológicas Universidade de Brasília Brasília DF Brazil
| | - Jamie M. Kneitel
- Department of Biological Sciences California State University Sacramento CA USA
| | - Emerson M. Vieira
- Departamento de Ecologia Instituto de Ciências Biológicas Universidade de Brasília Brasília DF Brazil
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Skull-shape variation and modularity in two Japanese field mice, Apodemus speciosus and Apodemus argenteus (Rodentia: Muridae). ZOOL ANZ 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jcz.2020.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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Hinckley A, Hawkins MTR, Achmadi AS, Maldonado JE, Leonard JA. Ancient Divergence Driven by Geographic Isolation and Ecological Adaptation in Forest Dependent Sundaland Tree Squirrels. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
A surprising amount of hidden phylogenetic diversity exists in the small to medium size, drab colored squirrels of the genus Sundasciurus. This genus is endemic to Sundaland and the Philippines, where it is widespread. An earlier revision of this genus found that the high elevation ‘populations’ of the widespread, lowland slender squirrel (S. tenuis) were different species. Previous phylogenies based on mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences also suggested that the widespread, lowland Low’s squirrel (S. lowii) and the narrow endemic Fraternal squirrel (S. fraterculus) are not reciprocally monophyletic. Additionally, deep divergences have been identified between lineages within Low’s squirrel that date to the early Pliocene. Here we focus on evaluating the relationships and differences within and between populations of these two nominal species using whole mitochondrial genome sequences, nuclear intron sequences, and morphology. We reassess the taxonomy of this group, revalidate the species status of Robinson’s squirrel (Sundasciurus robinsoniBonhote, 1903) support the species level recognition of the Natuna squirrel (Sundasciurus natunensisThomas, 1895) and identify three other lineages that require further study. We estimate times of divergence and integrate geologic history to find that most of the divergences are pre-Pleistocene, and thus predate the Pleistocene flooding of Sundaland. Biogeographic, and ecological factors may have played a more important role than climatic factors in generating these patterns. While divergence in allopatry seems to be the main process driving speciation in lowland Sundaland squirrels (Sundasciurus), ecomorphological and behavioral adaptations in this clade suggest an important role of niche divergence.
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Form, Function and Evolution of the Skull of Didelphid Marsupials (Didelphimorphia: Didelphidae). J MAMM EVOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s10914-019-09495-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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