Browse Items · NEOMED Bibliography Database

Carpal morphology and function in the earliest cetaceans

During the land-to-water transition in the Eocene epoch, the cetacean skeleton underwent modifications to accommodate life in the seas. These changes are well-documented in the fossil record. The forelimb transformed from a weight-bearing limb with…

Tags: 2020, Cetacea, eocene cetaceans

The Endocranial Cast of Indohyus (Artiodactyla, Raoellidae): The Origin of the Cetacean Brain

We present the first description of the endocranial cast of the small raoellid artiodactyl Indohyus indirae. Raoellidae are sister group to Cetacea and the new morphological observations allow for outlining some of the early steps of the evolutionary…

Tags: 2021, Brain, Cetacea, CT scan, Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Endocast, eocene, Journal of Mammalian Evolution, journalArticle, May 2021 List, NEOMED College of Medicine, Orliac MJ, Thewissen JGM

Linking gene expression and phenotypic changes in the developmental and evolutionary origins of osteosclerosis in the ribs of bowhead whales (balaena mysticetus).

Bowhead whales are among the longest-lived mammals with an extreme lifespan of about 211 years. During the first 25 years of their lives, rib bones increase in mineral density and the medulla transitions from compact to trabecular bone. Molecular …

Postcranial Morphology And Locomotion Of The Eocene Raoellid Indohyus (artiodactyla: Mammalia)

Intervertebral and Epiphyseal Fusion in the Postnatal Ontogeny of Cetaceans and Terrestrial Mammals

In this paper we studied three related aspects of the ontogeny of the vertebral centrum of cetaceans and terrestrial mammals in an evolutionary context. We determined patterns of ontogenetic fusion of the vertebral epiphyses in bowhead whale (Balaena…

Decompression syndrome and the evolution of deep diving physiology in the Cetacea

Whales repetitively dive deep to feed and should be susceptible to decompression syndrome, though they are not known to suffer the associated pathologies. Avascular osteonecrosis has been recognized as an indicator of diving habits of extinct marine…

The origin and early evolution of whales: macroevolution documented on the Indian Subcontinent

The origin of whales (order Cetacea) from a four-footed land animal is one of the best understood examples of macroevolutionary change. This evolutionary transition has been substantially elucidated by fossil finds from the Indian subcontinent in the…

Protocetid cetaceans (Mammalia) from the Eocene of India

Protocetid cetaceans were first described from the Eocene of India in 1975, but many more specimens have been discovered since then and are described here. All specimens are from District Kutch in the State of Gujarat and were recovered in deposits…

Organization and distribution of glomeruli in the bowhead whale olfactory bulb.

Although modern baleen whales (Mysticeti) retain a functional olfactory system that includes olfactory bulbs, cranial nerve I and olfactory receptor genes, their olfactory capabilities have been reduced to a great degree. This reduction likely…

Tags: 2015, Baleen whale, Brain, Cetacea, Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, George John C, Kishida Takushi, Mysticeti, NEOMED College of Medicine, Olfactory marker protein, Olfactory receptor, PeerJ, Suydam Robert S, Thewissen J G M, Usip Sharon

Development and evolution of the unique cetacean dentition.

The evolutionary success of mammals is rooted in their high metabolic rate. A high metabolic rate is sustainable thanks to efficient food processing and that in turn is facilitated by precise occlusion of the teeth and the acquisition of rhythmic…

Tags: 2013, Armfield Brooke A, Bajpai Sunil, Cetacea, Cetacean, Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Evo-devo, NEOMED College of Medicine, Paleontology, PeerJ, Teeth, Thewissen J G M, Vinyard Christopher J, Zheng Zhengui

Aquatic adaptation and the evolution of smell and taste in whales.

INTRODUCTION: While olfaction is one of the most important senses in most terrestrial mammals, it is absent in modern toothed whales (Odontoceti, Cetacea). Furthermore, behavioral evidence suggests that gustation is very limited. In contrast, their…

Tags: 2015, Agata Kiyokazu, Antarctic minke whale genome, Archaeoceti, Cetacea, Chemoreception, Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Hayakawa Takashi, Imai Hiroo, Kishida Takushi, NEOMED College of Medicine, Olfactory bulb, Thewissen J G M, Zoological letters

Evolutionary aspects of the development of teeth and baleen in the bowhead whale.

In utero, baleen whales initiate the development of several dozens of teeth in upper and lower jaws. These tooth germs reach the bell stage and are sometimes mineralized, but toward the end of prenatal life they are resorbed and no trace remains…

Whales originated from aquatic artiodactyls in the Eocene epoch of India.

Although the first ten million years of whale evolution are documented by a remarkable series of fossil skeletons, the link to the ancestor of cetaceans has been missing. It was known that whales are related to even-toed ungulates (artiodactyls), but…

The spiral ganglion and Rosenthal's canal in beluga whales.

With the increase of human activity and corresponding increase in anthropogenic sounds in marine waters of the Arctic, it is necessary to understand its effect on the hearing of marine wildlife. We have conducted a baseline study on the spiral…

Sensory Hairs in the Bowhead Whale, Balaena mysticetus (Cetacea, Mammalia).

We studied the histology and morphometrics of the hairs of bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus). These whales are hairless except for two patches of more than 300 hairs on the rostral tip of the lower lip and chin, the rostral tip of the upper lip,…

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