Anyone with a Long-Face? Craniofacial Evolutionary Allometry (CREA) in a Family of Short-Faced Mammals, the Felidae

Abstract

Anyone with a Long-Face? Craniofacial Evolutionary Allometry (CREA) in a Family of Short-Faced Mammals, the Felidae http://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/6790/ Article LJMU has developed LJMU Research Online for users to access the research output of the University more effectively. Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Users may download and/or print one copy of any article(s) in LJMU Research Online to facilitate their private study or for non-commercial research. You may not engage in further distribution of the material or use it for any profit-making activities or any commercial gain.The version presented here may differ from the published version or from the version of the record. Please see the repository URL above for details on accessing the published version and note that access may require a subscription. Abstract: Among adults of closely related species, a trend in craniofacial evolutionary allometry (CREA) for larger taxa to be long-faced and smaller ones to have paedomorphic aspects, such as proportionally smaller snouts and larger braincases, has been demonstrated in some mammals and two bird lineages. Nevertheless, whether this may represent a 'rule' with few exceptions is still an open question. In this context, Felidae is a particularly interesting family to study because, although its members are short-faced, previous research did suggest relative facial elongation in larger living representatives. Using geometric morphometrics, based on two sets of anatomical landmarks, and traditional morphometrics, for comparing relative lengths of the palate and basicranium, we performed a series of standard and comparative allometric regressions in the Felidae and its two subfamilies. All analyses consistently supported the CREA pattern, with only one minor exception in the geometric morphometric analysis of Pantherinae: the genus Neofelis. With its unusually long canines, Neofelis species seem to have a relatively narrow cranium and long face, despite being smaller than other big cats. In spite of this, overall, our findings strengthen the possibility that the CREA pattern might indeed be a 'rule' among mammals, raising questions on the processes behind it and suggesting future directions for its study. smaller than other big cats. In spite of this, overall, our findings strengthen the possibility that the CREA pattern might indeed be a 'rule' among mammals, raising questions on the processes behind it and suggesting future directions for its study. Powered by Edit orial Manager® and ProduXion Manager® from Aries Syst em s Corporat ion Running Head: Cranial allometry 'RULE' in Felidae

Effects of diet on cranial morphology and biting ability in musteloid mammals

“…A recent body of work has suggested that, among closely related mammals, larger taxa exhibit relatively longer rostrums, whereas smaller taxa exhibit paedomorphic characteristics such as proportionally shorter rostrums and larger braincases (Cardini & Polly, ; Cardini et al ., ; Tamagnini et al ., ). This pattern, termed cranial evolutionary allometry (CREA), has been uncovered in African antelopes, squirrels, fruit bats, mongooses, felids and kangaroos (Cardini & Polly, ; Cardini et al ., ; Tamagnini et al ., ). A more elongate rostrum enables a wider gape and faster jaw closure during prey capture that tends to result in a decrease in relative bite force (Preuschoft & Witzel, ; Santana, ).…”

Craniofacial allometry is a rule in evolutionary radiations of placentals

“…That thus led to the distinctive morphology of modern humans, with their disproportionately large braincase The robust support for CREA in 14 distantly related, and ecomorphologically disparate, placental lineages makes it unlikely that the pattern arose independently so many times. In fact, this analysis, the largest until now in terms of samples and taxonomic groups, together with Radinsky's (8) pioneering work, and a number of studies reporting similar craniofacial allometric patterns within one or or another specific lineage of mammals, provide evidence for CREA in: four large taxa of primates (8), as well as four families of carnivores (8)(9)(10); several groups of rodents (5,(18)(19)(20), and the main living family of the lagomorphs, the leporids (8); three lineages of arctiodactyls (5,8,21), and at least one of perissiodactyls (8); one of the main lineages of erinaceomorphs (8) and one of bats (5); two families of Afrotheria (the tenrecs (8), besides the hyraxes analysed here); two out three of the main xenarthran clades; and at least two families of marsupials (8,9). Thus, parsimony suggests that most other placentals might follow CREA, that, if found in even more lineages of marsupials (and maybe also in the echidnas), confirmed in birds (11)(12)(13) and possibly discovered in other land vertebrates, could become one of the most general rules of morphological evolution in the tetrapods.…”

“…This macroevolutionary pattern of cranial evolutionary allometry (CREA (9)) was first described as mammalian trend by Radinsky (8) and has later been hypothesized to be a rule of morphological evolution (5,9). CREA has been mainly explored in placentals (5,10), but occurs also in marsupials, such as didelphids (8) and kangaroos (9), and more recently, but less conclusively, has been supported even in birds (11)(12)(13). However, before it can join the list of established evolutionary 'rules', stronger evidence from a larger number of species and lineages must be obtained.…”

“…For instance, in ungulates, the pressure for breaking the rule in ventral cranial proportions could have been the need of housing large hypsodont teeth, whose size might be relatively larger in small herbivores, forcing the palate to be proportionally long despite a modest cranial size. Tamagnini et al (10) also speculated that teeth might be important in modifying the rule, as the main exception among pantherines was the proportionally long palate of the relatively small clouded leopard, a species with exceptionally long canines and therefore very deep and long dental roots. In human evolution, in contrast, selective pressures for evolving large brains, together with tool use, cooking, and other forms of food processing, made large teeth unnecessary and probably contributed to revert CREA (5).…”

Evolution of skull shape in the family Salamandridae (Amphibia: Caudata)

“…; Tamagnini et al. ). Studies on other vertebrate taxa, including amphibians, are less common (Ponssa & Candioti, ; Sherratt et al.…”