Floccular fossa size is not a reliable proxy of ecology and behaviour in vertebrates

Ferreira-Cardoso, Sérgio; Araújo, Ricardo; Martins, Nelson; Martins, Gabriel G.; Walsh, Stig; Martins, R. M. S.; Kardjilov, Nikolay; Manke, Ingo; Hilger, André; Castanhinha, Rui

doi:10.1038/s41598-017-01981-0

Cited by 57 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…), posterior to the point of confluence of the dorsal and ventral rami of the mid‐cerebral vein, are identified as the floccular fossae lobe ( sensu Ferreira‐Cardoso et al . ). Brain tissues associated with the floccular fossae lobe are likely to correspond to the flocculus and paraflocculus of the cerebellum (see Ferreira‐Cardoso et al .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Rapid transformation in the braincase of sauropod dinosaurs: integrated evolution of the braincase and neck in early sauropods?

2017

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Sauropod dinosaurs were quadrupedal herbivores with a highly specialized body plan that attained the largest masses of any terrestrial vertebrates. Recent discoveries have shown that key traits associated with sauropod gigantism appeared stepwise during the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic in evolutionary ‘cascades’ of associated changes, in which a ‘head and neck’ cascade has been suggested as an important module. Here, we investigate the evolutionary transformation of the sauropodomorph braincase, using discrete anatomical characters, prompted by the reanalysis of a Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) sauropodiform braincase from England. Our analysis shows that sauropod braincases are highly distinct, and occupy a different region of morphospace than their evolutionary relatives. This resulted from anatomical transformations including a set of changes in the surface attachments of craniocervical musculature, which may indicate integrated evolution between neck elongation and transformation in braincase anatomy. Neck elongation in Late Triassic and Early or Middle Jurassic taxa is potentially associated with episodes of skull reduction, indicating that the ‘head and neck’ cascade was activated more than once in the evolutionary history of Sauropodomorpha. The re‐activation of this cascade in the Jurassic may have impacted on the differential survival of sauropodomorph lineages through the Early and Middle Jurassic.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Brain tissues associated with the floccular fossae lobe are likely to correspond to the flocculus and paraflocculus of the cerebellum (see Ferreira‐Cardoso et al . ). As is typical for sauropods (e.g.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Rapid transformation in the braincase of sauropod dinosaurs: integrated evolution of the braincase and neck in early sauropods?

2017

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“…In contrast, a recent study by Ferreira‐Cardoso et al . () found a lack of relationship between the size of the subarcuate fossa and locomotion. However, they used a very heterogeneous sample of mammals.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Virtual endocasts of fossil Sciuroidea: brain size reduction in the evolution of fossoriality

et al. 2018

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Aplodontia rufa (mountain beaver) is the only extant member of the Aplodontidae. The fossil record indicates that this family displayed greater taxonomic and ecological diversity in the past, and that the burrowing adaptations of Aplodontia might be derived. We describe the first virtual endocasts of A. rufa and of three fossil aplodontids: Prosciurus relictus and Pros. aff. saskatchewaensis (early Oligocene), and Mesogaulus paniensis (early Miocene). Our results show that the endocasts of early aplodontid rodents are more similar to those of early arboreal squirrels than to those of the later occurring aplodontids in terms of both relative size and morphology. The endocranial features observed in sciurids and early aplodontids, missing in later aplodontids, have been associated with better vision and the development of arboreality in squirrels. Basal Aplodontidae known from postcrania have been described as generalists with some features for arboreality, which may provide a basis for these similarities. In contrast, the relatively small endocasts of the later occurring aplodontids, which lack traits related to visual specialization, may reflect their burrowing adaptations, as they would be less reliant on visual cues. When integrated with data from the most primitive fossil rodents, the Ischyromyidae, these new data suggest that early squirrels and aplodontids diverged from more terrestrial ischyromyids to become more arboreal, with relatively larger brains showing traits for improved vision. Recent Aplodontidae with fossorial adaptations returned to a more ischyromyid‐like condition in their endocranial features. These results are consistent with previous observations that changes in locomotion are reflected in the endocranial anatomy of rodents.

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“…Large petrosal lobules are present in more active and visually oriented animals, such as arboreal squirrels, compared with more slow‐moving and fossorial taxa like the mountain beaver ( Aplodontia rufa ; Bertrand et al., , 2018b). The average petrosal volume percentage is 0.96%, with a range of 0.01–2.34%, for 49 species of mammals (Ferreira‐Cardoso et al., ) and 1.78%, with a range of 0.39–3.35%, for 33 Ischyromyidae and Sciuroidea rodent species (Bertrand et al., 2018b). This suggests that the petrosal lobules of Ch.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Virtual endocranial and inner ear endocasts of the Paleocene ‘condylarth’ Chriacus: new insight into the neurosensory system and evolution of early placental mammals

et al. 2019

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The end‐Cretaceous mass extinction allowed placental mammals to diversify ecologically and taxonomically as they filled ecological niches once occupied by non‐avian dinosaurs and more basal mammals. Little is known, however, about how the neurosensory systems of mammals changed after the extinction, and what role these systems played in mammalian diversification. We here use high‐resolution computed tomography (CT) scanning to describe the endocranial and inner ear endocasts of two species, Chriacus pelvidens and Chriacus baldwini, which belong to a cluster of ‘archaic’ placental mammals called ‘arctocyonid condylarths’ that thrived during the ca. 10 million years after the extinction (the Paleocene Epoch), but whose relationships to extant placentals are poorly understood. The endocasts provide new insight into the paleobiology of the long‐mysterious ‘arctocyonids’, and suggest that Chriacus was an animal with an encephalization quotient (EQ) range of 0.12–0.41, which probably relied more on its sense of smell than vision, because the olfactory bulbs are proportionally large but the neocortex and petrosal lobules are less developed. Agility scores, estimated from the dimensions of the semicircular canals of the inner ear, indicate that Chriacus was slow to moderately agile, and its hearing capabilities, estimated from cochlear dimensions, suggest similarities with the extant aardvark. Chriacus shares many brain features with other Paleocene mammals, such as a small lissencephalic brain, large olfactory bulbs and small petrosal lobules, which are likely plesiomorphic for Placentalia. The inner ear of Chriacus also shares derived characteristics of the elliptical and spherical recesses with extinct species that belong to Euungulata, the extant placental group that includes artiodactyls and perissodactyls. This lends key evidence to the hypothesized close relationship between Chriacus and the extant ungulate groups, and demonstrates that neurosensory features can provide important insight into both the paleobiology and relationships of early placental mammals.

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Floccular fossa size is not a reliable proxy of ecology and behaviour in vertebrates

Cited by 57 publications

References 72 publications

Rapid transformation in the braincase of sauropod dinosaurs: integrated evolution of the braincase and neck in early sauropods?

Rapid transformation in the braincase of sauropod dinosaurs: integrated evolution of the braincase and neck in early sauropods?

Virtual endocasts of fossil Sciuroidea: brain size reduction in the evolution of fossoriality

Virtual endocranial and inner ear endocasts of the Paleocene ‘condylarth’ Chriacus: new insight into the neurosensory system and evolution of early placental mammals

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