1
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Panciroli E, Benson RBJ, Fernandez V, Fraser NC, Humpage M, Luo ZX, Newham E, Walsh S. Jurassic fossil juvenile reveals prolonged life history in early mammals. Nature 2024:10.1038/s41586-024-07733-1. [PMID: 39048827 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07733-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2024] [Indexed: 07/27/2024]
Abstract
Living mammal groups exhibit rapid juvenile growth with a cessation of growth in adulthood1. Understanding the emergence of this pattern in the earliest mammaliaforms (mammals and their closest extinct relatives) is hindered by a paucity of fossils representing juvenile individuals. We report exceptionally complete juvenile and adult specimens of the Middle Jurassic docodontan Krusatodon, providing anatomical data and insights into the life history of early diverging mammaliaforms. We used synchrotron X-ray micro-computed tomography imaging of cementum growth increments in the teeth2-4 to provide evidence of pace of life in a Mesozoic mammaliaform. The adult was about 7 years and the juvenile 7 to 24 months of age at death and in the process of replacing its deciduous dentition with its final, adult generation. When analysed against a dataset of life history parameters for extant mammals5, the relative sequence of adult tooth eruption was already established in Krusatodon and in the range observed in extant mammals but this development was prolonged, taking place during a longer period as part of a significantly longer maximum lifespan than extant mammals of comparable adult body mass (156 g or less). Our findings suggest that early diverging mammaliaforms did not experience the same life histories as extant small-bodied mammals and the fundamental shift to faster growth over a shorter lifespan may not have taken place in mammaliaforms until during or after the Middle Jurassic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elsa Panciroli
- Natural Sciences Department, National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh, UK.
- University of Oxford Museum of Natural History, Oxford, UK.
| | | | | | - Nicholas C Fraser
- Natural Sciences Department, National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh, UK
| | | | | | - Elis Newham
- School of Engineering and Material Science, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
- Section Palaeontology, Institute of Geosciences, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Stig Walsh
- Natural Sciences Department, National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh, UK
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2
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Mao F, Zhang C, Ren J, Wang T, Wang G, Zhang F, Rich T, Vickers-Rich P, Meng J. Fossils document evolutionary changes of jaw joint to mammalian middle ear. Nature 2024; 628:576-581. [PMID: 38570677 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07235-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
Abstract
The dual jaw joint of Morganucodon1,2 consists of the dentary-squamosal joint laterally and the articular-quadrate one medially. The articular-quadrate joint and its associated post-dentary bones constitute the precursor of the mammalian middle ear. Fossils documenting the transition from such a precursor to the mammalian middle ear are poor, resulting in inconsistent interpretations of this hallmark apparatus in the earliest stage of mammaliaform evolution1-5. Here we report mandibular middle ears from two Jurassic mammaliaforms: a new morganucodontan-like species and a pseudotribosphenic shuotheriid species6. The morganucodontan-like species shows many previously unknown post-dentary bone morphologies1,2 and exhibits features that suggest a loss of load-bearing function in its articular-quadrate joint. The middle ear of the shuotheriid approaches the mammalian condition in that it has features that are suitable for an exclusively auditory function, although the post-dentary bones are still attached to the dentary. With size reduction of the jaw-joint bones, the quadrate shifts medially at different degrees in relation to the articular in the two mammaliaforms. These changes provide evidence of a gradual loss of load-bearing function in the articular-quadrate jaw joint-a prerequisite for the detachment of the post-dentary bones from the dentary7-12 and the eventual breakdown of the Meckel's cartilage13-15 during the evolution of mammaliaforms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fangyuan Mao
- Key Laboratory of Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Chi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jicheng Ren
- Key Laboratory of Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Tao Wang
- Bureau of Land and Resources of Lufeng County, Lufeng, China
| | - Guofu Wang
- Fossil Research Center of Chuxiong Prefecture, Chuxiong, China
| | - Fakui Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Thomas Rich
- Museums Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Patricia Vickers-Rich
- Museums Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- School of Earth and Planetary Science, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Jin Meng
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA.
- Earth and Environmental Sciences, Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA.
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3
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Mao F, Li Z, Wang Z, Zhang C, Rich T, Vickers-Rich P, Meng J. Jurassic shuotheriids show earliest dental diversification of mammaliaforms. Nature 2024; 628:569-575. [PMID: 38570681 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07258-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
Abstract
Shuotheriids are Jurassic mammaliaforms that possess pseudotribosphenic teeth in which a pseudotalonid is anterior to the trigonid in the lower molar, contrasting with the tribosphenic pattern of therian mammals (placentals, marsupials and kin) in which the talonid is posterior to the trigonid1-4. The origin of the pseudotribosphenic teeth remains unclear, obscuring our perception of shuotheriid affinities and the early evolution of mammaliaforms1,5-9. Here we report a new Jurassic shuotheriid represented by two skeletal specimens. Their complete pseudotribosphenic dentitions allow reidentification of dental structures using serial homology and the tooth occlusal relationship. Contrary to the conventional view1,2,6,10,11, our findings show that dental structures of shuotheriids can be homologized to those of docodontans and partly support homologous statements for some dental structures between docodontans and other mammaliaforms6,12. The phylogenetic analysis based on new evidence removes shuotheriids from the tribosphenic ausktribosphenids (including monotremes) and clusters them with docodontans to form a new clade, Docodontiformes, that is characterized by pseudotribosphenic features. In the phylogeny, docodontiforms and 'holotherians' (Kuehneotherium, monotremes and therians)13 evolve independently from a Morganucodon-like ancestor with triconodont molars by labio-lingual widening their posterior teeth for more efficient food processing. The pseudotribosphenic pattern passed a cusp semitriangulation stage9, whereas the tribosphenic pattern and its precursor went through a stage of cusp triangulation. The two different processes resulted in complex tooth structures and occlusal patterns that elucidate the earliest diversification of mammaliaforms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fangyuan Mao
- Key Laboratory of Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Zhiyu Li
- Inner Mongolia Museum of Natural History, Hohhot, China
| | - Zhili Wang
- Inner Mongolia Museum of Natural History, Hohhot, China
| | - Chi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Thomas Rich
- Museums Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Patricia Vickers-Rich
- Museums Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Jin Meng
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA.
- Earth and Environmental Sciences, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA.
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4
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Brocklehurst N. The decline and fall of the mammalian stem. PeerJ 2024; 12:e17004. [PMID: 38436024 PMCID: PMC10906263 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.17004] [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: 10/23/2023] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024] Open
Abstract
The mammalian crown originated during the Mesozoic and subsequently radiated into the substantial array of forms now extant. However, for about 100 million years before the crown's origin, a diverse array of stem mammalian lineages dominated terrestrial ecosystems. Several of these stem lineages overlapped temporally and geographically with the crown mammals during the Mesozoic, but by the end of the Cretaceous crown mammals make up the overwhelming majority of the fossil record. The progress of this transition between ecosystems dominated by stem mammals and those dominated by crown mammals is not entirely clear, in part due to a distinct separation of analyses and datasets. Analyses of macroevolutionary patterns tend to focus on either the Mammaliaformes or the non-mammalian cynodonts, with little overlap in the datasets, preventing direct comparison of the diversification trends. Here I analyse species richness and biogeography of Synapsida as a whole during the Mesozoic, allowing comparison of the patterns in the mammalian crown and stem within a single framework. The analysis reveals the decline of the stem mammals occurred in two discrete phases. The first phase occurred between the Triassic and Middle Jurassic, during which the stem mammals were more restricted in their geographic range than the crown mammals, although within localities their species richness remained at levels seen previously. The second phase was a decline in species richness, which occurred during the Lower Cretaceous. The results show the decline of stem mammals, including tritylodontids and several mammaliaform groups, was not tied to a specific event, nor a gradual decline, but was instead a multiphase transition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neil Brocklehurst
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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5
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Chimento NR, Agnolín FL, García-Marsà J, Manabe M, Tsuihiji T, Novas FE. A large therian mammal from the Late Cretaceous of South America. Sci Rep 2024; 14:2854. [PMID: 38310138 PMCID: PMC10838296 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-53156-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Theria represent an extant clade that comprises placental and marsupial mammals. Here we report on the discovery of a new Late Cretaceous mammal from southern Patagonia, Patagomaia chainko gen. et sp. nov., represented by hindlimb and pelvic elements with unambiguous therian features. We estimate Patagomaia chainko attained a body mass of 14 kg, which is considerably greater than the 5 kg maximum body mass of coeval Laurasian therians. This new discovery demonstrates that Gondwanan therian mammals acquired large body size by the Late Cretaceous, preceding their Laurasian relatives, which remained small-bodied until the beginning of the Cenozoic. Patagomaia supports the view that the Southern Hemisphere was a cradle for the evolution of modern mammalian clades, alongside non-therian extinct groups such as meridiolestidans, gondwanatherians and monotremes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolás R Chimento
- Laboratorio de Anatomía Comparada y Evolución de los Vertebrados (LACEV), Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia" (MACN-CONICET), Av. Ángel Gallardo 470, C1405DJR, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
| | - Federico L Agnolín
- Laboratorio de Anatomía Comparada y Evolución de los Vertebrados (LACEV), Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia" (MACN-CONICET), Av. Ángel Gallardo 470, C1405DJR, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Fundación de Historia Natural "Félix de Azara", Departamento de Ciencias Naturales y Antropología, CEBBAD - Universidad Maimónides, Hidalgo 767, C1405BDB, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Jordi García-Marsà
- Laboratorio de Anatomía Comparada y Evolución de los Vertebrados (LACEV), Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia" (MACN-CONICET), Av. Ángel Gallardo 470, C1405DJR, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Makoto Manabe
- National Museum of Nature and Science, 4‑1‑1 Amakubo, Tsukuba, 305‑0005, Japan
| | - Takanobu Tsuihiji
- Department of Earth and Planetary Science, The University of Tokyo, 7‑3‑1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 305‑0005, Japan
| | - Fernando E Novas
- Laboratorio de Anatomía Comparada y Evolución de los Vertebrados (LACEV), Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia" (MACN-CONICET), Av. Ángel Gallardo 470, C1405DJR, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
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6
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Ross CF, Laurence-Chasen JD, Li P, Orsbon C, Hatsopoulos NG. Biomechanical and Cortical Control of Tongue Movements During Chewing and Swallowing. Dysphagia 2024; 39:1-32. [PMID: 37326668 PMCID: PMC10781858 DOI: 10.1007/s00455-023-10596-9] [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: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Tongue function is vital for chewing and swallowing and lingual dysfunction is often associated with dysphagia. Better treatment of dysphagia depends on a better understanding of hyolingual morphology, biomechanics, and neural control in humans and animal models. Recent research has revealed significant variation among animal models in morphology of the hyoid chain and suprahyoid muscles which may be associated with variation in swallowing mechanisms. The recent deployment of XROMM (X-ray Reconstruction of Moving Morphology) to quantify 3D hyolingual kinematics has revealed new details on flexion and roll of the tongue during chewing in animal models, movements similar to those used by humans. XROMM-based studies of swallowing in macaques have falsified traditional hypotheses of mechanisms of tongue base retraction during swallowing, and literature review suggests that other animal models may employ a diversity of mechanisms of tongue base retraction. There is variation among animal models in distribution of hyolingual proprioceptors but how that might be related to lingual mechanics is unknown. In macaque monkeys, tongue kinematics-shape and movement-are strongly encoded in neural activity in orofacial primary motor cortex, giving optimism for development of brain-machine interfaces for assisting recovery of lingual function after stroke. However, more research on hyolingual biomechanics and control is needed for technologies interfacing the nervous system with the hyolingual apparatus to become a reality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Callum F Ross
- Department of Organismal Biology & Anatomy, The University of Chicago, 1027 East 57th St, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA.
| | - J D Laurence-Chasen
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, USA
| | - Peishu Li
- Department of Organismal Biology & Anatomy, The University of Chicago, 1027 East 57th St, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA
| | - Courtney Orsbon
- Department of Radiology, University of Vermont Medical Center, Burlington, USA
| | - Nicholas G Hatsopoulos
- Department of Organismal Biology & Anatomy, The University of Chicago, 1027 East 57th St, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA
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7
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Li P, Ross CF, Luo ZX, Gidmark NJ. Head posture impacts mammalian hyoid position and suprahyoid muscle length: implication for swallowing biomechanics. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220552. [PMID: 37839446 PMCID: PMC10577029 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0552] [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: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 08/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Instantaneous head posture (IHP) can extensively alter resting hyoid position in humans, yet postural effects on resting hyoid position remain poorly documented among mammals in general. Clarifying this relationship is essential for evaluating interspecific variation in hyoid posture across evolution, and understanding its implications for hyolingual soft tissue function and swallowing motor control. Using Didelphis virginiana as a model, we conducted static manipulation experiments to show that head flexion shifts hyoid position rostrally relative to the cranium across different gapes. IHP-induced shifts in hyoid position along the anteroposterior axis are comparable to in vivo hyoid protraction distance during swallowing. IHP also has opposite effects on passive genio- and stylohyoid muscle lengths. High-speed biplanar videoradiography suggests Didelphis consistently swallows at neutral to flexed posture, with stereotyped hyoid kinematics across different head postures. IHP change can affect suprahyoid muscle force production by shifting their positions on the length-tension curve, and redirecting lines of action and the resultant force from supra- and infrahyoid muscles. We hypothesize that demands on muscle performance may constrain the range of swallowing head postures in mammals. This article is part of the theme issue 'Food processing and nutritional assimilation in animals'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peishu Li
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago IL, 60637, USA
| | - Callum F. Ross
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago IL, 60637, USA
| | - Zhe-Xi Luo
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago IL, 60637, USA
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8
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Wang H, Wang Y. Middle ear innovation in Early Cretaceous eutherian mammals. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6831. [PMID: 37884521 PMCID: PMC10603157 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42606-7] [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: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The middle ear ossicles in modern mammals are repurposed from postdentary bones in non-mammalian cynodonts. Recent discoveries by palaeontological and embryonic studies have developed different models for the middle ear evolution in mammaliaforms. However, little is known about the evolutionary scenario of the middle ear in early therians. Here we report a detached middle ear preserved in a new eutherian mammal from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota. The well-preserved articulation of the malleus and incus suggest that the saddle-shaped incudomallear joint is a major apomorphy of Early Cretaceous eutherians. By contrast to the distinct saddle-like incudomallear articulation in therians, differences between the overlapping versus the half-overlapping incudomallear joints in monotremes and stem mammals would be relatively minor. The middle ear belongs to the microtype by definition, indicating its adaptation to high-frequency hearing. Current evidence indicates that significant evolutionary innovations of the middle ear in modern therians evolved in Early Cretaceous.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haibing Wang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100044, Beijing, China.
| | - Yuanqing Wang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100044, Beijing, China.
- College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China.
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9
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Steer KE, Johnson ML, Adjerid K, Bond LE, Howe SP, Khalif A, Nkachukwu KC, Edmonds CE, German RZ, Mayerl CJ. The Function of the Mammal Extrinsic Tongue Musculature in the Transition from Suckling to Drinking. Integr Comp Biol 2023; 63:641-652. [PMID: 37160353 PMCID: PMC10503468 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icad023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Revised: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 05/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The transition from suckling to drinking is a developmental pathway that all mammals take. In both behaviors, the tongue is the primary structure involved in acquiring, transporting, and swallowing the liquid. However, the two processes are fundamentally different: during suckling, the tongue must function as a pump to generate suction to move milk, whereas during drinking, the tongue moves backwards and forwards through the mouth to acquire and move water. Despite these fundamental differences, we have little understanding of how tongues role varies between these behaviors. We used an infant pig model to investigate the relationships between anatomy, physiology, and function of the tongue to examine how lingual function is modulated in the transition from infancy to adulthood. We found that while some muscles were proportionally largest at birth, others were proportionally larger at the time of weaning. Furthermore, we found variation in tongue movements between suckling and drinking along both the mediolateral and anteroposterior axes, resulting in differences in tongue deformation between the two behaviors. The extrinsic tongue muscles also changed in function differently between drinking and suckling. Genioglossus increased its activity and turned on and off earlier in the cycle during drinking, whereas hyoglossus fired at lower amplitudes during drinking, and turned on and off later in the cycle. Together, the data highlight the significant need for high neuroplasticity in the control of the tongue at a young age in mammals and suggest that the ability to do so is key in the ontogeny and evolution of feeding in these animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- K E Steer
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown OH 44272, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
| | - M L Johnson
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown OH 44272, USA
| | - K Adjerid
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown OH 44272, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tulane University, New Orleans, Lousiana, 70118, USA
| | - L E Bond
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown OH 44272, USA
| | - S P Howe
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown OH 44272, USA
| | - A Khalif
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown OH 44272, USA
| | - K C Nkachukwu
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown OH 44272, USA
| | - C E Edmonds
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown OH 44272, USA
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA
| | - R Z German
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown OH 44272, USA
| | - C J Mayerl
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
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10
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Tseng ZJ, Garcia-Lara S, Flynn JJ, Holmes E, Rowe TB, Dickson BV. A switch in jaw form-function coupling during the evolution of mammals. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220091. [PMID: 37183899 PMCID: PMC10184249 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2023] Open
Abstract
The evolutionary shift from a single-element ear, multi-element jaw to a multi-element ear, single-element jaw during the transition to crown mammals marks one of the most dramatic structural transformations in vertebrates. Research on this transformation has focused on mammalian middle-ear evolution, but a mandible comprising only the dentary is equally emblematic of this evolutionary radiation. Here, we show that the remarkably diverse jaw shapes of crown mammals are coupled with surprisingly stereotyped jaw stiffness. This strength-based morphofunctional regime has a genetic basis and allowed mammalian jaws to effectively resist deformation as they radiated into highly disparate forms with markedly distinct diets. The main functional consequences for the mandible of decoupling hearing and mastication were a trade-off between higher jaw stiffness versus decreased mechanical efficiency and speed compared with non-mammals. This fundamental and consequential shift in jaw form-function underpins the ecological and taxonomic diversification of crown mammals. This article is part of the theme issue 'The mammalian skull: development, structure and function'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Z Jack Tseng
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Museum of Paleontology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - Sergio Garcia-Lara
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Museum of Paleontology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - John J Flynn
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
- Richard Gilder Graduate School, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - Emily Holmes
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Timothy B Rowe
- Jackson School of Geological Sciences, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Blake V Dickson
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
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11
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Norton LA, Abdala F, Benoit J. Craniodental anatomy in Permian-Jurassic Cynodontia and Mammaliaformes (Synapsida, Therapsida) as a gateway to defining mammalian soft tissue and behavioural traits. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220084. [PMID: 37183903 PMCID: PMC10184251 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Mammals are diagnosed by more than 30 osteological characters (e.g. squamosal-dentary jaw joint, three inner ear ossicles, etc.) that are readily preserved in the fossil record. However, it is the suite of physiological, soft tissue and behavioural characters (e.g. endothermy, hair, lactation, isocortex and parental care), the evolutionary origins of which have eluded scholars for decades, that most prominently distinguishes living mammals from other amniotes. Here, we review recent works that illustrate how evolutionary changes concentrated in the cranial and dental morphology of mammalian ancestors, the Permian-Jurassic Cynodontia and Mammaliaformes, can potentially be used to document the origin of some of the most crucial defining features of mammals. We discuss how these soft tissue and behavioural traits are highly integrated, and how their evolution is intermingled with that of craniodental traits, thus enabling the tracing of their previously out-of-reach phylogenetic history. Most of these osteological and dental proxies, such as the maxillary canal, bony labyrinth and dental replacement only recently became more easily accessible-thanks, in large part, to the widespread use of X-ray microtomography scanning in palaeontology-because they are linked to internal cranial characters. This article is part of the theme issue 'The mammalian skull: development, structure and function'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luke A Norton
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Fernando Abdala
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Unidad Ejecutora Lillo, CONICET-Fundación Miguel Lillo, Miguel Lillo 251, Tucumán 4000, Argentina
| | - Julien Benoit
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa
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12
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Alata Jimenez N, Castellano M, Santillan EM, Boulias K, Boan A, Arias Padilla LF, Fernandino JI, Greer EL, Tosar JP, Cochella L, Strobl-Mazzulla PH. Paternal methotrexate exposure affects sperm small RNA content and causes craniofacial defects in the offspring. Nat Commun 2023; 14:1617. [PMID: 36959185 PMCID: PMC10036556 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37427-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2022] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Folate is an essential vitamin for vertebrate embryo development. Methotrexate (MTX) is a folate antagonist that is widely prescribed for autoimmune diseases, blood and solid organ malignancies, and dermatologic diseases. Although it is highly contraindicated for pregnant women, because it is associated with an increased risk of multiple birth defects, the effect of paternal MTX exposure on their offspring has been largely unexplored. Here, we found MTX treatment of adult medaka male fish (Oryzias latipes) causes cranial cartilage defects in their offspring. Small non-coding RNA (sncRNAs) sequencing in the sperm of MTX treated males identify differential expression of a subset of tRNAs, with higher abundance for specific 5' tRNA halves. Sperm RNA methylation analysis on MTX treated males shows that m5C is the most abundant and differential modification found in RNAs ranging in size from 50 to 90 nucleotides, predominantly tRNAs, and that it correlates with greater testicular Dnmt2 methyltransferase expression. Injection of sperm small RNA fractions from MTX-treated males into normal fertilized eggs generated cranial cartilage defects in the offspring. Overall, our data suggest that paternal MTX exposure alters sperm sncRNAs expression and modifications that may contribute to developmental defects in their offspring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nagif Alata Jimenez
- Laboratory of Developmental Biology, Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas- Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús (CONICET-UNSAM), Chascomús, Argentina
- Escuela de Bio y Nanotecnologías (UNSAM), Chascomús, Argentina
| | - Mauricio Castellano
- Functional Genomics Unit, Instituto Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay
- School of Science, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Emilio M Santillan
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MA, USA
| | - Konstantinos Boulias
- Department of Pediatrics, HMS Initiative for RNA Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Division of Newborn Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Agustín Boan
- Laboratory of Developmental Biology, Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas- Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús (CONICET-UNSAM), Chascomús, Argentina
- Escuela de Bio y Nanotecnologías (UNSAM), Chascomús, Argentina
| | - Luisa F Arias Padilla
- Laboratory of Developmental Biology, Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas- Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús (CONICET-UNSAM), Chascomús, Argentina
- Escuela de Bio y Nanotecnologías (UNSAM), Chascomús, Argentina
| | - Juan I Fernandino
- Laboratory of Developmental Biology, Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas- Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús (CONICET-UNSAM), Chascomús, Argentina
- Escuela de Bio y Nanotecnologías (UNSAM), Chascomús, Argentina
| | - Eric L Greer
- Department of Pediatrics, HMS Initiative for RNA Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Division of Newborn Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Juan P Tosar
- Functional Genomics Unit, Instituto Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay
- School of Science, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Luisa Cochella
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MA, USA
| | - Pablo H Strobl-Mazzulla
- Laboratory of Developmental Biology, Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas- Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús (CONICET-UNSAM), Chascomús, Argentina.
- Escuela de Bio y Nanotecnologías (UNSAM), Chascomús, Argentina.
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13
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Yu Y, Zhang C, Xu X. Complex macroevolution of pterosaurs. Curr Biol 2023; 33:770-779.e4. [PMID: 36787747 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2022] [Revised: 11/13/2022] [Accepted: 01/05/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023]
Abstract
Pterosaurs, the earliest flying tetrapods, are the subject of some recent quantitative macroevolutionary analyses from different perspectives.1-2 Here, we use an integrative approach involving newly assembled phylogenetic and body size datasets, net diversification rates, morphological rates, and morphological disparity to gain a holistic understanding of the pterosaur macroevolution. The first two parameters are important in quantitative analyses of macroevolution, but they have been rarely used in previous pterosaur studies.1,3,4,2,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12 Our study reveals an ∼115-Ma period-from Early Triassic to Early Cretaceous-of multi-wave increasing net diversification rates and disparity, as well as high morphological rates, followed by an ∼65-Ma period-from Early Cretaceous to the end of the Cretaceous-of mostly negative net diversification rates, decreasing disparity, and relatively low morphological rates in pterosaur evolution. Our study demonstrates the following: (1) body size plays an important role in pterosaur lineage diversification during nearly their whole evolutionary history, and the evolution of locomotion, trophic, and ornamental structures also plays a role in different periods; (2) birds, the other major flying tetrapod group at the time, might have affected pterosaur macroevolution for ∼100 Ma; and (3) different mass extinction events might have affected pterosaur evolution differently. Particularly, the revealed decline in pterosaur biodiversity during the Middle and Late Cretaceous periods provides further support for the possible presence of a biodiversity decline of large-sized terrestrial amniotes starting in the mid-Cretaceous,13,14 which may have been caused by multiple factors including a global land area decrease during these periods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yilun Yu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Chi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China.
| | - Xing Xu
- Centre for Vertebrate Evolutionary Biology, Yunnan University, Kunming, China; Shenyang Normal University, Paleontological Museum of Liaoning, Shenyang, China.
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14
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First monotreme from the Late Cretaceous of South America. Commun Biol 2023; 6:146. [PMID: 36797304 PMCID: PMC9935847 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04498-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Monotremata is a clade of egg-lying mammals, represented by the living platypus and echidnas, which is endemic to Australia, and adjacent islands. Occurrence of basal monotremes in the Early Cretaceous of Australia has led to the consensus that this clade originated on that continent, arriving later to South America. Here we report on the discovery of a Late Cretaceous monotreme from southern Argentina, demonstrating that monotremes were present in circumpolar regions by the end of the Mesozoic, and that their distinctive anatomical features were probably present in these ancient forms as well.
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15
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Common evolutionary origin of acoustic communication in choanate vertebrates. Nat Commun 2022; 13:6089. [PMID: 36284092 PMCID: PMC9596459 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-33741-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Acoustic communication, broadly distributed along the vertebrate phylogeny, plays a fundamental role in parental care, mate attraction and various other behaviours. Despite its importance, comparatively less is known about the evolutionary roots of acoustic communication. Phylogenetic comparative analyses can provide insights into the deep time evolutionary origin of acoustic communication, but they are often plagued by missing data from key species. Here we present evidence for 53 species of four major clades (turtles, tuatara, caecilian and lungfish) in the form of vocal recordings and contextual behavioural information accompanying sound production. This and a broad literature-based dataset evidence acoustic abilities in several groups previously considered non-vocal. Critically, phylogenetic analyses encompassing 1800 species of choanate vertebrates reconstructs acoustic communication as a homologous trait, and suggests that it is at least as old as the last common ancestor of all choanate vertebrates, that lived approx. 407 million years before present.
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16
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Fabik J, Psutkova V, Machon O. Meis2 controls skeletal formation in the hyoid region. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 10:951063. [PMID: 36247013 PMCID: PMC9554219 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.951063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
A vertebrate skull is composed of many skeletal elements which display enormous diversity of shapes. Cranial bone formation embodies a multitude of processes, i.e., epithelial-mesenchymal induction, mesenchymal condensation, and endochondral or intramembranous ossification. Molecular pathways determining complex architecture and growth of the cranial skeleton during embryogenesis are poorly understood. Here, we present a model of the hyoid apparatus development in Wnt1-Cre2-induced Meis2 conditional knock-out (cKO) mice. Meis2 cKO embryos develop an aberrant hyoid apparatus—a complete skeletal chain from the base of the neurocranium to lesser horns of the hyoid, resembling extreme human pathologies of the hyoid-larynx region. We examined key stages of hyoid skeletogenesis to obtain a complex image of the hyoid apparatus formation. Lack of Meis2 resulted in ectopic loci of mesenchymal condensations, ectopic cartilage and bone formation, disinhibition of skeletogenesis, and elevated proliferation of cartilage precursors. We presume that all these mechanisms contribute to formation of the aberrant skeletal chain in the hyoid region. Moreover, Meis2 cKO embryos exhibit severely reduced expression of PBX1 and HAND2 in the hyoid region. Altogether, MEIS2 in conjunction with PBX1 and HAND2 affects mesenchymal condensation, specification and proliferation of cartilage precursors to ensure development of the anatomically correct hyoid apparatus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaroslav Fabik
- Department of Developmental Biology, Institute of Experimental Medicine of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
- Department of Cell Biology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Viktorie Psutkova
- Department of Developmental Biology, Institute of Experimental Medicine of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
- Department of Cell Biology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Ondrej Machon
- Department of Developmental Biology, Institute of Experimental Medicine of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
- *Correspondence: Ondrej Machon,
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17
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Bendel EM, Kammerer CF, Luo ZX, Smith RMH, Fröbisch J. The earliest segmental sternum in a Permian synapsid and its implications for the evolution of mammalian locomotion and ventilation. Sci Rep 2022; 12:13472. [PMID: 35931742 PMCID: PMC9356055 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-17492-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2022] [Accepted: 07/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The sternum is a stabilizing element in the axial skeleton of most tetrapods, closely linked with the function of the pectoral girdle of the appendicular skeleton. Modern mammals have a distinctive sternum characterized by multiple ossified segments, the origins of which are poorly understood. Although the evolution of the pectoral girdle has been extensively studied in early members of the mammalian total group (Synapsida), only limited data exist for the sternum. Ancestrally, synapsids exhibit a single sternal element and previously the earliest report of a segmental sternum in non-mammalian synapsids was in the Middle Triassic cynodont Diademodon tetragonus. Here, we describe the well-preserved sternum of a gorgonopsian, a group of sabre-toothed synapsids from the Permian. It represents an ossified, multipartite element resembling the mammalian condition. This discovery pulls back the origin of the distinctive “mammalian” sternum to the base of Theriodontia, significantly extending the temporal range of this morphology. Through a review of sternal morphology across Synapsida, we reconstruct the evolutionary history of this structure. Furthermore, we explore its role in the evolution of mammalian posture, gait, and ventilation through progressive regionalization of the postcranium as well as the posteriorization of musculature associated with mammalian breathing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva-Maria Bendel
- Museum Für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institut Für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115, Berlin, Germany. .,Institut Für Biologie, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstraße 42, 10115, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Christian F Kammerer
- North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, 11 W Jones Street, Raleigh, NC, USA.,Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Yale Road, Johannesburg, 2000, South Africa
| | - Zhe-Xi Luo
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, 1027 E 57th Street, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Roger M H Smith
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Yale Road, Johannesburg, 2000, South Africa.,Department of Karoo Palaeontology, Iziko South African Museum, 25 Queen Victoria Street, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa
| | - Jörg Fröbisch
- Museum Für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institut Für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115, Berlin, Germany.,Institut Für Biologie, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstraße 42, 10115, Berlin, Germany.,Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Yale Road, Johannesburg, 2000, South Africa
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18
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Li P, Ross CF, Luo ZX. Morphological disparity and evolutionary transformations in the primate hyoid apparatus. J Hum Evol 2021; 162:103094. [PMID: 34808474 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103094] [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: 01/09/2021] [Revised: 10/03/2021] [Accepted: 10/03/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
The hyoid apparatus plays an integral role in swallowing, respiration, and vocalization in mammals. Most placental mammals have a rod-shaped basihyal connected to the basicranium via both soft tissues and a mobile bony chain-the anterior cornu-whereas anthropoid primates have broad, shield-like or even cup-shaped basihyals suspended from the basicranium by soft tissues only. How the unique anthropoid hyoid morphology evolved is unknown, and hyoid morphology of nonanthropoid primates is poorly documented. Here we use phylogenetic comparative methods and linear morphometrics to address knowledge gaps in hyoid evolution among primates and their euarchontan outgroups. We find that dermopterans have variable reduction of cornu elements. Cynocephalus volans are sexually dimorphic in hyoid morphology. Tupaia and all lemuroids except Daubentonia have a fully ossified anterior cornu connecting a rod-shaped basihyal to the basicranium; this is the ancestral mammalian pattern that is also characteristic of the last common ancestor of Primates. Haplorhines exhibit a reduced anterior cornu, and anthropoids underwent further increase in basihyal aspect ratio values and in relative basihyal volume. Convergent with haplorhines, lorisoid strepsirrhines independently evolved a broad basihyal and reduced anterior cornua. While a reduced anterior cornu is hypothesized to facilitate vocal tract lengthening and lower formant frequencies in some mammals, our results suggest vocalization adaptations alone are unlikely to drive the iterative reduction of anterior cornua within Primates. Our new data on euarchontan hyoid evolution provide an anatomical basis for further exploring the form-function relationships of the hyoid across different behaviors, including vocalization, chewing, and swallowing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peishu Li
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA.
| | - Callum F Ross
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA
| | - Zhe-Xi Luo
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA
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19
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Asher RJ, Smith MR. Phylogenetic Signal and Bias in Paleontology. Syst Biol 2021; 71:986-1008. [PMID: 34469583 PMCID: PMC9248965 DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syab072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Revised: 08/24/2021] [Accepted: 08/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
An unprecedented amount of evidence now illuminates the phylogeny of living mammals and birds on the Tree of Life. We use this tree to measure phylogenetic value of data typically used in paleontology (bones and teeth) from six datasets derived from five published studies. We ask three interrelated questions: 1) Can these data adequately reconstruct known parts of the Tree of Life? 2) Is accuracy generally similar for studies using morphology, or do some morphological datasets perform better than others? 3) Does the loss of non-fossilizable data cause taxa to occur in misleadingly basal positions? Adding morphology to DNA datasets usually increases congruence of resulting topologies to the well corroborated tree, but this varies among morphological datasets. Extant taxa with a high proportion of missing morphological characters can greatly reduce phylogenetic resolution when analyzed together with fossils. Attempts to ameliorate this by deleting extant taxa missing morphology are prone to decreased accuracy due to long-branch artefacts. We find no evidence that fossilization causes extinct taxa to incorrectly appear at or near topologically basal branches. Morphology comprises the evidence held in common by living taxa and fossils, and phylogenetic analysis of fossils greatly benefits from inclusion of molecular and morphological data sampled for living taxa, whatever methods are used for phylogeny estimation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert J Asher
- Department of Zoology, Downing St., University of Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Martin R Smith
- Department of Earth Sciences, Lower Mount Joy, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
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20
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Grossnickle DM, Weaver LN, Jäger KRK, Schultz JA. The evolution of anteriorly directed molar occlusion in mammals. Zool J Linn Soc 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
In non-mammalian synapsids and early mammals, evolutionary transformations in the feeding and hearing apparatuses are posited to have been prerequisites for the radiation of extant mammals. Unlike most vertebrates, including many early synapsids, mammals have precise dental occlusion, a lower jaw composed of one bone, and middle ear ossicles derived from ancestral jaw bones. We illuminate a related functional transition: therian mammals (eutherians and metatherians) evolved anteriorly directed chewing strokes, which are absent in other synapsid lineages. Anteriorly directed jaw movement during occlusion necessitates anteriorly directed muscle force vectors, and we posit that a shift in muscle orientation is reflected in the fossil record by the evolutionary appearance of a posteriorly positioned angular process in cladotherians (therians and their close kin). Anteriorly directed occlusion might have been absent in earlier synapsids because of the presence of attached middle ear elements in the posterior region of the jaw that prohibited the posterior insertion of jaw musculature. These changes to the masticatory apparatus in cladotherians are likely to have permitted the evolution of novel masticatory movements, including grinding in both the anterior and medial directions (e.g. rodents and ungulates, respectively). Thus, this evolutionary transition might have been a crucial prerequisite for the dietary diversification of therians.
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Affiliation(s)
- David M Grossnickle
- Department of Biology, Life Sciences Building, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Lucas N Weaver
- Department of Biology, Life Sciences Building, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Kai R K Jäger
- Section Palaeontology, Institute of Geosciences, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Nussallee 8, Bonn, Germany
| | - Julia A Schultz
- Section Palaeontology, Institute of Geosciences, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Nussallee 8, Bonn, Germany
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21
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Brocklehurst N, Panciroli E, Benevento GL, Benson RBJ. Mammaliaform extinctions as a driver of the morphological radiation of Cenozoic mammals. Curr Biol 2021; 31:2955-2963.e4. [PMID: 34004143 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.04.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2020] [Revised: 12/04/2020] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Adaptive radiations are hypothesized as a generating mechanism for much of the morphological diversity of extant species.1-7 The Cenozoic radiation of placental mammals, the foundational example of this concept,8,9 gave rise to much of the morphological disparity of extant mammals, and is generally attributed to relaxed evolutionary constraints following the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs.10-13 However, study of this and other radiations has focused on variation in evolutionary rates,4,5,7,14 leaving the extent to which relaxation of constraints enabled the origin of novel phenotypes less well characterized.15-17 We evaluate constraints on morphological evolution among mammaliaforms (mammals and their closest relatives) using a new method that quantifies the capacity of evolutionary change to generate phenotypic novelty. We find that Mesozoic crown-group therians, which include the ancestors of placental mammals, were significantly more constrained than other mammaliaforms. Relaxation of these constraints occurred in the mid-Paleocene, post-dating the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs at the K/Pg boundary, instead coinciding with important environmental shifts and with declining ecomorphological diversity in non-theriimorph mammaliaforms. This relaxation occurred even in small-bodied Cenozoic mammals weighing <100 g, which are unlikely to have competed with dinosaurs. Instead, our findings support a more complex model whereby Mesozoic crown therian evolution was in part constrained by co-occurrence with disparate mammaliaforms, as well as by the presence of dinosaurs, within-lineage incumbency effects, and environmental factors. Our results demonstrate that variation in evolutionary constraints can occur independently of variation in evolutionary rate, and that both make important contributions to the understanding of adaptive radiations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neil Brocklehurst
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3AN, UK.
| | - Elsa Panciroli
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3AN, UK; Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PW, UK
| | - Gemma Louise Benevento
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Roger B J Benson
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3AN, UK
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22
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Marjanović D. The Making of Calibration Sausage Exemplified by Recalibrating the Transcriptomic Timetree of Jawed Vertebrates. Front Genet 2021; 12:521693. [PMID: 34054911 PMCID: PMC8149952 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2021.521693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2020] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Molecular divergence dating has the potential to overcome the incompleteness of the fossil record in inferring when cladogenetic events (splits, divergences) happened, but needs to be calibrated by the fossil record. Ideally but unrealistically, this would require practitioners to be specialists in molecular evolution, in the phylogeny and the fossil record of all sampled taxa, and in the chronostratigraphy of the sites the fossils were found in. Paleontologists have therefore tried to help by publishing compendia of recommended calibrations, and molecular biologists unfamiliar with the fossil record have made heavy use of such works (in addition to using scattered primary sources and copying from each other). Using a recent example of a large node-dated timetree inferred from molecular data, I reevaluate all 30 calibrations in detail, present the current state of knowledge on them with its various uncertainties, rerun the dating analysis, and conclude that calibration dates cannot be taken from published compendia or other secondary or tertiary sources without risking strong distortions to the results, because all such sources become outdated faster than they are published: 50 of the (primary) sources I cite to constrain calibrations were published in 2019, half of the total of 280 after mid-2016, and 90% after mid-2005. It follows that the present work cannot serve as such a compendium either; in the slightly longer term, it can only highlight known and overlooked problems. Future authors will need to solve each of these problems anew through a thorough search of the primary paleobiological and chronostratigraphic literature on each calibration date every time they infer a new timetree, and that literature is not optimized for that task, but largely has other objectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Marjanović
- Department of Evolutionary Morphology, Science Programme “Evolution and Geoprocesses”, Museum für Naturkunde – Leibniz Institute for Evolutionary and Biodiversity Research, Berlin, Germany
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23
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Jaw shape and mechanical advantage are indicative of diet in Mesozoic mammals. Commun Biol 2021; 4:242. [PMID: 33623117 PMCID: PMC7902851 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-01757-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2020] [Accepted: 01/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Jaw morphology is closely linked to both diet and biomechanical performance, and jaws are one of the most common Mesozoic mammal fossil elements. Knowledge of the dietary and functional diversity of early mammals informs on the ecological structure of palaeocommunities throughout the longest era of mammalian evolution: the Mesozoic. Here, we analyse how jaw shape and mechanical advantage of the masseter (MAM) and temporalis (MAT) muscles relate to diet in 70 extant and 45 extinct mammals spanning the Late Triassic-Late Cretaceous. In extant mammals, jaw shape discriminates well between dietary groups: insectivores have long jaws, carnivores intermediate to short jaws, and herbivores have short jaws. Insectivores have low MAM and MAT, carnivores have low MAM and high MAT, and herbivores have high MAM and MAT. These traits are also informative of diet among Mesozoic mammals (based on previous independent determinations of diet) and set the basis for future ecomorphological studies.
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24
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Panciroli E, Benson RBJ, Fernandez V, Butler RJ, Fraser NC, Luo ZX, Walsh S. New species of mammaliaform and the cranium of Borealestes (Mammaliformes: Docodonta) from the Middle Jurassic of the British Isles. Zool J Linn Soc 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Docodonta are one of the earliest diverging groups of mammaliaforms, and their morphology provides key information on the transition between non-mammalian cynodonts and Mammalia. We describe the partial skulls of two docodontans Borealestes serendipitus and Borealestes cuillinensis sp. nov. from the Kilmaluag Formation (Middle Jurassic: Bathonian), Isle of Skye, Scotland. We visualize their cranial anatomy using laboratory and synchrotron X-ray micro-CT. The skulls belong to two partial skeletons, currently comprising the most complete Mesozoic mammal fossils reported from the British Isles. The associated upper and lower dentitions show that the lower dentition of Borealestes is not diagnostic to species level. We establish, B. cuillinensis, based on upper molar characters, and re-identify upper molars previously assigned to ‘Borealestes’ mussettae as belonging to B. cuillinensis. ‘Borealestes’ mussettae, based on distinctive lower molars, is found to be morphologically and phylogenetically distinct from Borealestes, necessitating assignment to a new genus, Dobunnodon gen. nov. The skulls of Borealestes retain many plesiomorphic features seen in Morganucodon but absent in more crownward mammaliaforms. Our study highlights that generic and species taxonomy of docodontans are more reliable when based on both upper and lower teeth, while lower molar morphology may underrepresent the true diversity of Mesozoic mammaliaforms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elsa Panciroli
- Natural Science Department, National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
- School of Geosciences, Grant Institute, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, England, UK
| | - Roger B J Benson
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, England, UK
| | - Vincent Fernandez
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), Beamline, Grenoble, France
- Natural History Museum, London, UK
| | - Richard J Butler
- School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK
| | - Nicholas C Fraser
- Natural Science Department, National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
- School of Geosciences, Grant Institute, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
| | - Zhe-Xi Luo
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Stig Walsh
- Natural Science Department, National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
- School of Geosciences, Grant Institute, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
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Gould FDH, Lammers AR, Mayerl C, Ohlemacher J, German RZ. Muscle activity and kinematics show different responses to recurrent laryngeal nerve lesion in mammal swallowing. J Neurophysiol 2020; 124:1743-1753. [PMID: 32966748 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00409.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the interactions between neural and musculoskeletal systems is key to identifying mechanisms of functional failure. Mammalian swallowing is a complex, poorly understood motor process. Lesion of the recurrent laryngeal nerve, a sensory and motor nerve of the upper airway, results in airway protection failure (liquid entry into the airway) during swallowing through an unknown mechanism. We examined how muscle and kinematic changes after recurrent laryngeal nerve lesion relate to airway protection in eight infant pigs. We tested two hypotheses: 1) kinematics and muscle function will both change in response to lesion in swallows with and without airway protection failure, and 2) differences in both kinematics and muscle function will predict whether airway protection failure occurs in lesion and intact pigs. We recorded swallowing with high-speed videofluoroscopy and simultaneous electromyography of oropharyngeal muscles pre- and postrecurrent laryngeal nerve lesion. Lesion changed the relationship between airway protection and timing of tongue and hyoid movements. Changes in onset and duration of hyolaryngeal muscles postlesion were less associated with airway protection outcomes. The tongue and hyoid kinematics all predicted airway protection outcomes differently pre- and postlesion. Onset and duration of activity in only one infrahyoid and one suprahyoid muscle showed a change in predictive relationship pre- and postlesion. Kinematics of the tongue and hyoid more directly reflect changes in airway protections pre- and postlesion than muscle activation patterns. Identifying mechanisms of airway protection failure requires specific functional hypotheses that link neural motor outputs to muscle activation to specific movements.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Kinematic and muscle activity patterns of oropharyngeal structures used in swallowing show different patterns of response to lesion of the recurrent laryngeal nerve. Understanding how muscles act on structures to produce behavior is necessary to understand neural control.
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Affiliation(s)
- François D H Gould
- Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rowan School of Osteopathic Medicine, Stratford, New Jersey
| | | | - Christopher Mayerl
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, Ohio
| | - Jocelyn Ohlemacher
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, Ohio
| | - Rebecca Z German
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, Ohio
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Celik MA, Phillips MJ. Conflict Resolution for Mesozoic Mammals: Reconciling Phylogenetic Incongruence Among Anatomical Regions. Front Genet 2020; 11:0651. [PMID: 32774343 PMCID: PMC7381353 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2020.00651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2019] [Accepted: 05/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The evolutionary history of Mesozoic mammaliaformes is well studied. Although the backbone of their phylogeny is well resolved, the placement of ecologically specialized groups has remained uncertain. Functional and developmental covariation has long been identified as an important source of phylogenetic error, yet combining incongruent morphological characters altogether is currently a common practice when reconstructing phylogenetic relationships. Ignoring incongruence may inflate the confidence in reconstructing relationships, particularly for the placement of highly derived and ecologically specialized taxa, such as among australosphenidans (particularly, crown monotremes), haramiyidans, and multituberculates. The alternative placement of these highly derived clades can alter the taxonomic constituency and temporal origin of the mammalian crown group. Based on prior hypotheses and correlated homoplasy analyses, we identified cheek teeth and shoulder girdle character complexes as having a high potential to introduce phylogenetic error. We showed that incongruence among mandibulodental, cranial, and postcranial anatomical partitions for the placement of the australosphenidans, haramiyids, and multituberculates could largely be explained by apparently non-phylogenetic covariance from cheek teeth and shoulder girdle characters. Excluding these character complexes brought agreement between anatomical regions and improved the confidence in tree topology. These results emphasize the importance of considering and ameliorating major sources of bias in morphological data, and we anticipate that these will be valuable for confidently integrating morphological and molecular data in phylogenetic and dating analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mélina A Celik
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Matthew J Phillips
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
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28
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Hoffmann S, Krause DW. Tongues untied. Science 2019; 365:222-223. [PMID: 31320523 DOI: 10.1126/science.aay2061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Simone Hoffmann
- Department of Anatomy, New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, NY, USA.
| | - David W Krause
- Department of Earth Sciences, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO, USA
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