-
Article
Open AccessA Phylogeny and Timescale for the Evolution of Pseudocheiridae (Marsupialia: Diprotodontia) in Australia and New Guinea
Pseudocheiridae (Marsupialia: Diprotodontia) is a family of endemic Australasian arboreal folivores, more commonly known as ringtail possums. Seventeen extant species are grouped into six genera (Pseudocheirus, P...
-
Article
Open AccessMaternal Effects in Ontogeny and Evolution
-
Article
Open AccessThe Great American Biotic Interchange: Dispersals, Tectonics, Climate, Sea Level and Holding Pens
The biotic and geologic dynamics of the Great American Biotic Interchange are reviewed and revised. Information on the Marine Isotope Stage chronology, sea level changes as well as Pliocene and Pleistocene veg...
-
Article
Open AccessThe Skull of Epidolops ameghinoi from the Early Eocene Itaboraí Fauna, Southeastern Brazil, and the Affinities of the Extinct Marsupialiform Order Polydolopimorphia
The skull of the polydolopimorphian marsupialiform Epidolops ameghinoi is described in detail for the first time, based on a single well-preserved cranium and associated left and right dentaries plus additional c...
-
Article
Open AccessA Digital Endocranial Cast of the Early Paleocene (Puercan) ‘Archaic’ Mammal Onychodectes tisonensis (Eutheria: Taeniodonta)
Eutherian mammals—placentals and their closest extinct relatives—underwent a major radiation following the end-Cretaceous extinction, during which they evolved disparate anatomy and established new terrestrial...
-
Article
Open AccessFeeding Ecology in Oligocene Mylodontoid Sloths (Mammalia, Xenarthra) as Revealed by Orthodentine Microwear Analysis
Recently, dental microwear analysis has been successfully employed to xenarthran teeth. Here, we present new data on use wear features on 16 molariforms of Orophodon hapaloides and Octodontotherium grande. These ...
-
Article
Open AccessElbow Joint Geometry in Bears (Ursidae, Carnivora): a Tool to Infer Paleobiology and Functional Adaptations of Quaternary Fossils
Bears are currently represented by eight species among Carnivora. Being all particularly large and generally plantigrade limits to certain extent their functional morphology so that inferences about their past...
-
Article
Open AccessDental Shape Variation and Phylogenetic Signal in the Rattini Tribe Species of Mainland Southeast Asia
The Rattini tribe comprises some of the most specious genera in the mammalian kingdom. Many of these species are also highly morphologically conserved. As a result, identifying Rattini tribe animals, particula...
-
Article
Open AccessInfluences of Domestication and Island Evolution on Dental Growth in Sheep
Domestication and island evolution can lead to changes of life history along the slow-fast gradient. Shifts of life history patterns, in turn, are potentially related to alterations of patterns and timing of t...
-
Article
Open AccessEvolutionary and Functional Implications of Incisor Enamel Microstructure Diversity in Notoungulata (Placentalia, Mammalia)
Notoungulates are an extinct clade of South American mammals, comprising a large diversity of body sizes and skeletal morphologies, and including taxa with highly specialized dentitions. The evolutionary histo...
-
Article
Open AccessMorphological Diversification under High Integration in a Hyper Diverse Mammal Clade
Diversification and adaptive radiations are tied to evolvability, which in turn is linked to morphological integration. Tightly integrated structures typically evolve in unison, whereas loosely integrated stru...
-
Article
Open AccessA Nearly Complete Juvenile Skull of the Marsupial Sparassocynus derivatus from the Pliocene of Argentina, the Affinities of “Sparassocynids”, and the Diversification of Opossums (Marsupialia; Didelphimorphia; Didelphidae)
“Sparassocynids” are small, carnivorously-adapted marsupials known from the late Miocene and Pliocene of South America, thought to be relatives of living didelphid opossums but of otherwise uncertain phylogene...
-
Article
Open AccessProximal Humerus Morphology Indicates Divergent Patterns of Locomotion in Extinct Giant Kangaroos
Sthenurine kangaroos, extinct “giant kangaroos” known predominantly from the Plio-Pleistocene, have been proposed to have used bipedal striding as a mode of locomotion, based on the morphology of their hind li...
-
Article
Open AccessModern Northern Domestic Horses Carry Mitochondrial DNA Similar to Przewalski’s Horse
Several recent studies have suggested past gene flow between the Przewalski’s horse and modern domestic horse and questioned the wild origin of the Przewalski’s horse. Mitochondrial DNA has placed representati...
-
Article
Open AccessEvolution of the Mammalian Neck from Developmental, Morpho-Functional, and Paleontological Perspectives
The mammalian neck adopts a variety of postures during daily life and generates numerous head trajectories. Despite its functional diversity, the neck is constrained to seven cervical vertebrae in (almost) all...
-
Article
Open AccessThree-Dimensional and Histological Observations on Male Genital Organs of Greater Horseshoe Bat, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum
Anatomy of bat genital organs has been conventionally studied by gross and microscopic observations to date. Here, we employ both histological observation and diceCT (diffusible iodine-based contrast-enhanced ...
-
Article
Open AccessLate Quaternary Environmental and Human Impacts on the Mitochondrial DNA Diversity of Four Commensal Rodents in Myanmar
We addressed the spatiotemporal characteristics of four commensal rodent species occurring in Myanmar in comparison with other areas of the Indo-Malayan region. We examined sequence variations of the mitochond...
-
Article
Open AccessSuidae Transition at the Miocene-Pliocene Boundary: a Reassessment of the Taxonomy and Chronology of Propotamochoerus provincialis
The Miocene-Pliocene (Turolian-Ruscinian) transition represents a fundamental interval in the evolution of Euro-Mediterranean paleocommunities. In fact, the paleoenvironmental changes connected with the end of...
-
Article
Open AccessAmazonia as the Origin and Diversification Area of Didelphidae (Mammalia: Metatheria), and a Review of the Fossil Record of the Clade
Didelphidae is the largest New World radiation of marsupials, and is mostly represented by arboreal, small- to medium-sized taxa that inhabit tropical and/or subtropical forests. The group originated and remai...
-
Article
Open AccessCompromised Function of the Pancreatic Transcription Factor PDX1 in a Lineage of Desert Rodents
Gerbils are a subfamily of rodents living in arid regions of Asia and Africa. Recent studies have shown that several gerbil species have unusual amino acid changes in the PDX1 protein, a homeodomain transcript...
