Unexpected evolutionary patterns of dental ontogenetic traits in cetartiodactyl mammals.
Title
Unexpected evolutionary patterns of dental ontogenetic traits in cetartiodactyl mammals.
Creator
Rodrigues Helder Gomes; Lihoreau Fabrice; Orliac Maeva; Thewissen J G M; Boisserie Jean-Renaud
Publisher
Proceedings. Biological sciences
Date
2019
2019-02
Description
Studying ontogeny in both extant and extinct species can unravel the mechanisms underlying mammal diversification and specialization. Among mammalian clades, Cetartiodactyla encompass species with a wide range of adaptations, and ontogenetic evidence could clarify longstanding debates on the origins of modern specialized families. Here, we study the evolution of dental eruption patterns in early diverging cetartiodactyls to assess the ecological and biological significance of this character and shed new light on phylogenetic issues. After investigation of the ontogenetic dental series of 63 extinct genera, our parsimony reconstructions of eruption state evolution suggest that the eruption of molars before permanent premolars represents a plesiomorphic condition within Cetartiodactyla. This result substantially differs from a previous study based on modern species only. As a result, the presence of this pattern in most ruminants might represent an ancestral condition contributing to their specialized herbivory, rather than an original adaptation. In contrast, the late eruption of molars in hippopotamoids is more likely related to biological aspects, such as increases in body mass and slower pace of life. Our study mainly shows that eruption sequences reliably characterize higher level cetartiodactyl taxa and could represent a new source of phylogenetic characters, especially to disentangle the origin of hippopotamoids and cetaceans.
Subject
*Phylogeny; life history; Cetartiodactyla; dental eruption; herbivory
Identifier
URL Address
Rights
Article information provided for research and reference use only. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
Pages
20182417-20182417
Issue
1896
Volume
286
NEOMED College
NEOMED College of Medicine
NEOMED Department
Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology
Citation
Rodrigues Helder Gomes; Lihoreau Fabrice; Orliac Maeva; Thewissen J G M; Boisserie Jean-Renaud, “Unexpected evolutionary patterns of dental ontogenetic traits in cetartiodactyl mammals.,” NEOMED Bibliography Database, accessed May 7, 2024, https://neomed.omeka.net/items/show/6300.