A method for improved identification of postcrania from mammalian fossil assemblages: multivariate discriminant function analysis of camelid astragali

Davis, Edward B.; McHorse, Brianna K.

doi:10.26879/356

Cited by 6 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…These latter bone elements tend to be common in archaeological assemblages, and there is no reason to exclude the functional significance of other isolated long bones even if the material is fragmentary (cf. Davis and Calède 2012;Davis and McHorse 2013). In most of the analyses presented here, the fossil specimens emerged as belonging to the CanisLycaon lineage.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 74%

“…We follow Klein et al (2010) and Davis and McHorse (2013) in order to predict possible taxonomic affiliation at the genus level from morphometric data.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recently, Klein et al (2010), Davis and Calède (2012), and Davis and McHorse (2013) underlined an issue in ecomorphological studies which do not consider phylogenetic signal exhibited by bone morphometry. As such bovid and camelid postcranial morphometry can discriminate taxonomic categories better than ecological ones.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For this reason, we restricted our analyses to members of the family Canidae, such that our results can be compared to previous studies that have focused on a single family (cf. Kappelman 1988;Kappelman et al 1997;Bishop 1999;Elton 2001Elton , 2002Kovarovic and Andrews 2007;Plummer et al 2008;Klein et al 2010;Davis and McHorse 2013;Louys et al 2013;Meloro et al 2013). Furthermore, as there have been no attempts to explore radial morphometry in Carnivora to date, the restriction of our sample to Canidae is a reasonably conservative approach.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cats in the forest: predicting habitat adaptations from humerus morphometry in extant and fossil Felidae (Carnivora)

et al. 2013

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Mammalian carnivores are rarely incorporated in paleoenvironmental reconstructions, largely because of their rarity within the fossil record. However, multivariate statistical modeling can be successfully used to quantify specific anatomical features as environmental predictors. Here we explore morphological variability of the humerus in a closely related group of predators (Felidae) to investigate the relationship between morphometric descriptors and habitat categories. We analyze linear measurements of the humerus in three different morphometric combinations (log-transformed, size-free, and ratio), and explore four distinct ways of categorizing habitat adaptations. Open, Mixed, and Closed categories are defined according to criteria based on traditional descriptions of species, distributions, and biome occupancy. Extensive exploratory work is presented using linear discriminant analyses and several fossils are included to provide paleoecological reconstructions.We found no significant differences in the predictive power of distinct morphometric descriptors or habitat criteria, although sample splitting into small and large cat guilds greatly improves the stability of the models. Significant insights emerge for three long-canine cats: Smilodon populator, Paramachairodus orientalis, and Dinofelis sp. from Olduvai Gorge (East Africa). S. populator and P. orientalis are both predicted to have been closed-habitat adapted taxa. The false “sabertooth” Dinofelis sp. from Olduvai Gorge is predicted to be adapted to mixed habitat. The application of felid humerus ecomorphology to the carnivoran record of Olduvai Gorge shows that the older stratigraphic levels (Bed I, 1.99–1.79 Ma) included a broader range of environments than Beds II or V, where there is an abundance of cats adapted to open environments.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 74%

“…We follow Klein et al (2010) and Davis and McHorse (2013) in order to predict possible taxonomic affiliation at the genus level from morphometric data.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cats in the forest: predicting habitat adaptations from humerus morphometry in extant and fossil Felidae (Carnivora)

et al. 2013

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“…Feranec et al . ; McGuire ; Calede & Hopkins ; Davis & Calede ; Davis & McHorse ). This work has often focused on teeth because of their utility in mammalian taxonomy and abundance in the fossil record (see Smith & Wilson ) but it can be complicated by the change in apparent tooth shape with wear in hypsodont taxa (e.g.…”

Section: Previous Taxonomic Diagnoses Of Gopher Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geometric morphometric analyses of worn cheek teeth help identify extant and extinct gophers (Rodentia, Geomyidae)

Calede

Glusman

2017

Palaeontology

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Studies of the biostratigraphy and palaeoecology of fossil vertebrate assemblages require large samples of accurately identified specimens. Such analyses can be hampered by the inability to assign isolated and worn remains to specific taxa. Entoptychine gophers are a diverse group of burrowing rodents found in Oligo‐Miocene deposits of the western United States. In both entoptychines and their extant relatives the geomyines, diagnostic characters of the occlusal surface of the teeth are modified with wear, making difficult the identification of many isolated fossil teeth. We use geometric morphometrics to test the hypothesis that tooth shape informs taxonomic affinities and expected levels of morphological variation across gopher taxa. We also incorporate data from microcomputer tomography to investigate changes in occlusal surface shape through wear within individuals. Our analyses demonstrate the usefulness of our approach in identifying extant geomyines to the genus, subgenus and species levels, and fossil entoptychines to the genus and, in some cases, the species level. Our results cast doubt on the validity of some species within Entoptychus and suggest future revisions to entoptychine taxonomy. The amounts of morphological divergence observed among fossil and extant genera are similar. Fossil species do not differ greatly from extant ones in that regard either. Further work evaluating the morphological variation within and across entoptychine species, including unworn teeth and osteological material, will allow revised analyses of the biostratigraphy and palaeoecology of important Oligo‐Miocene mammalian assemblages of the western United States and help to infer the phylogenetic relationships and evolution of gophers.

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Walk before you jump: new insights on early frog locomotion from the oldest known salientian

Lires¹,

Soto²,

Gómez³

2016

Paleobiology

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Understanding the evolution of a Bauplan starts with discriminating phylogenetic signal from adaptation and the latter from exaptation in the observed biodiversity. Whether traits have predated, accompanied, or followed evolution of particular functions is the basic inference to establish the type of explanations required to determine morphological evolution. To accomplish this, we focus in a particular group of vertebrates, the anurans. Frogs and toads have a unique Bauplan among vertebrates, with a set of postcranial features that have been considered adaptations to jumping locomotion since their evolutionary origin. This interpretation is frequently stated but rarely tested in scientific literature. We test this assumption reconstructing the locomotor capabilities of the earliest known salientian, Triadobatrachus massinoti. This extinct taxon exhibits a mosaic of features that have traditionally been considered as representing an intermediate stage in the evolution of the anuran Bauplan, some of which were also linked to jumping skills. We considered T. massinoti in an explicit evolutionary framework by means of multivariate analyses and comparative phylogenetic methods. We used length measurements of major limb bones of 188 extant limbed amphibians (frogs and salamanders) and lizards as a morphological proxy of observed locomotor behavior. Our findings show that limb data correlate with locomotion, regardless of phylogenetic relatedness, and indicate that salamander-like lateral undulatory movements were the main mode of locomotion of T. massinoti. These results contrast with recent hypotheses and indicate that derived postcranial features that T. massinoti shared with anurans might have been later co-opted as exaptations in jumping frogs.

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A method for improved identification of postcrania from mammalian fossil assemblages: multivariate discriminant function analysis of camelid astragali

Cited by 6 publications

References 34 publications

Cats in the forest: predicting habitat adaptations from humerus morphometry in extant and fossil Felidae (Carnivora)

Cats in the forest: predicting habitat adaptations from humerus morphometry in extant and fossil Felidae (Carnivora)

Geometric morphometric analyses of worn cheek teeth help identify extant and extinct gophers (Rodentia, Geomyidae)

Walk before you jump: new insights on early frog locomotion from the oldest known salientian

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