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Article
Open AccessVestigial structures and variation in the evolution of the marsupial mammal dental development—a study of the woolly opossum Caluromys philander
The pattern of dental replacement in marsupial mammals has received much attention for its derived nature and potential relationship to the life history of the group. However, few species have been studied tho...
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Article
Open AccessPhylogenetic, Allometric, and Ecological Factors Affecting Morphological Variation in the Scapula and Humerus of Spiny Rats (Rodentia: Echimyidae)
Locomotion, as a fundamental function in mammals directly associated with the use of ecological resources, is expected to have anatomical structures functionally committed that evolved under intense selective ...
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Article
Open AccessDown a Rabbit Hole: Burrowing Behaviour and Larger Home Ranges are Related to Larger Brains in Leporids
Studies on the evolution of brain size variation usually focus on large clades encompassing broad phylogenetic groups. This risks introducing ‘noise’ in the results, often obscuring effects that might be detec...
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Article
Open AccessNew Material of Schizotheriine Chalicothere (Perissodactyla, Chalicotheriidae) from the **anshuihe Formation (Early Miocene) of Lanzhou Basin, Northwest China
A new schizotheriine mandible from the early Miocene **anshuihe Formation in Lanzhou Basin, Northwest China is described here. Compared with other contemporaneous taxa, the lower jaw is most similar to Borissiaki...
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Open AccessInvestigating the reliability of metapodials as taxonomic Indicators for Beringian horses
The metapodials of extinct horses have long been regarded as one of the most useful skeletal elements to determine taxonomic identity. However, recent research on both extant and extinct horses has revealed th...
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Article
Open AccessMiddle Pleistocene Steppe Lion Remains from Grotte de la Carrière (Têt Valley, Eastern Pyrenees)
Late Pleistocene cave lions are one of the most iconic species of Northern Hemisphere Quaternary taphocoenoses. Despite their often-scarce record in cave environments, their ubiquitous distribution across Eura...
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Article
Open AccessExtensive Interspecific Gene Flow Shaped Complex Evolutionary History and Underestimated Species Diversity in Rapidly Radiated Dolphins
Recently diverged taxa are often characterized by high rates of hybridization, which can complicate phylogenetic reconstruction. For this reason, the phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary history of dolp...
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Open AccessMaybe So, Maybe Not: Canis lepophagus at Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument, Idaho, USA
A canid dentary is described from the Pliocene Glenns Ferry Formation at Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument, south-central Idaho, USA. The specimen possesses traits in alliance with and measurements fallin...
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Article
Open AccessIntegrative Approach Uncovers New Patterns of Ecomorphological Convergence in Slow Arboreal Xenarthrans
Identifying ecomorphological convergence examples is a central focus in evolutionary biology. In xenarthrans, slow arboreality independently arose at least three times, in the two genera of ‘tree sloths’, Bradypu...
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Article
Open AccessCoat Polymorphism in Eurasian Lynx: Adaptation to Environment or Phylogeographic Legacy?
We studied the relationship between the variability and contemporary distribution of pelage phenotypes in one of most widely distributed felid species and an array of environmental and demographic conditions. ...
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Article
Open AccessDistal Humeral Morphology Indicates Locomotory Divergence in Extinct Giant Kangaroos
Previous studies of the morphology of the humerus in kangaroos showed that the shape of the proximal humerus could distinguish between arboreal and terrestrial taxa among living mammals, and that the extinct “...
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Article
Open AccessPetrosal Anatomy of the Paleocene Eutherian Mammal Deltatherium fundaminis (Cope, 1881)
We describe the tympanic anatomy of the petrosal of Deltatherium fundaminis, an enigmatic Paleocene mammal based on cranial specimens recovered from New Mexico, U.S.A. Although the ear region of Deltatherium has ...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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 ...
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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...
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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...
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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...
