Morphological cranial diversity contributes to phylogeny in soft-furred sengis (Afrotheria, Macroscelidea)

Scalici, Massimiliano; Panchetti, Fabiana

doi:10.1016/j.zool.2010.09.005

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 76 publications

(96 reference statements)

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“…While in some cases, the empirical results obtained presented some level of agreement with accepted phylogenies, as is the case in studies performed in elephant shrews (Panchetti et al . ; Scalici & Panchetti ), the more general trend has been one of significant incongruence with alternative sources of evidence (e.g. Couette et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Phylogenetic inference based on landmark data in 41 empirical data sets

Catalano

Torres

2016

Zoologica Scripta

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based on landmark data in 41 empirical data sets. -Zoologica Scripta, 46: 1-11. The inference of phylogenetic hypotheses from landmark data has been questioned during the last two decades. Besides theoretical concerns, one of the limitations pointed out for the use of landmark data in phylogenetics is its (supposed) lack of information relevant to the inference of phylogenetic relationships. However, empirical analyses are scarce; there exists no previous study that systematically evaluates the phylogenetic performance of landmark data in a series of data sets. In the present study, we analysed 41 published data sets in order to assess the correspondence between the phylogenetic trees derived from landmark data and those obtained with alternative and independent sources of evidence, and determined the main factors that might affect this inference. The data sets presented a variable number of terminals (5-200) and configurations (1-14), belonging to different taxonomic groups. The results showed that for most of the data sets analysed, the trees derived from landmark data presented a low correspondence with the reference phylogenies. The results were similar irrespective of the phylogenetic method considered. Complementary analyses strongly suggested that the limited amount of evidence included in each data set (one or a few landmark configurations) is the main cause for that low correspondence: the phylogenetic analysis of eight data sets that presented three or more configurations clearly showed that the inclusion of several landmark configurations improves the results. In addition, the analyses indicated that the inclusion of landmark data from different configurations is more important than the inclusion of more landmarks from the same configuration. Based on the results presented here, we consider that the poor results previously obtained in phylogenetic analyses based on landmark data were not caused by methodological limitations, but rather due to the limited amount of evidence included in the data sets.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Phylogenetic inference based on landmark data in 41 empirical data sets

Catalano

Torres

2016

Zoologica Scripta

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“…As no clear alternative classification of macroscelids has been proposed (e.g. Holroyd 2010; Scalici & Panchetti 2011;Smit et al 2011), and because the use of the genus Elephantulus as monophyletic remains morphologically consistent (Smit et al 2011), we chose to follow the standard classification of Corbet & Hanks (1968).…”

Section: Attribution Of the Petrosal From Chambi And Phylogenetic Sigmentioning

confidence: 99%

The petrosal of the earliest elephant-shrewChambius(Macroscelidea: Afrotheria) from the Eocene of Djebel Chambi (Tunisia) and the evolution of middle and inner ear of elephant-shrews

Benoît¹,

Orliac²,

Tabuce³

2013

Journal of Systematic Palaeontology

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Macroscelidea (elephant-shrews or sengis) are small insectivorous mammals restricted to Africa; they belong to the supercohort Afrotheria along with other insectivorans (aardvarks, tenrecs and golden moles) and ungulates (elephants, sea cows and hyraxes). Though their fossil record extends back to the Eocene, cranial remains of Palaeogene elephant-shrews, including the middle and inner ear structure, remain unknown. Two macroscelid isolated petrosal bones are described from the late Early-early Middle Eocene Djebel Chambi locality in Tunisia. Chambius kasserinensis is the only macroscelid represented in this locality. A cladistic analysis based on petrosal and inner ear characters highlights the crucial interest of the petrosal and inner ear morphology for understanding the evolution of Macroscelididae. It confirms the attribution of these isolated petrosals to C. kasserinensis. This hypothesis is supported by a common pattern of circulatory system, the morphology of the rostral and caudal tympanic processes, and the shape of the cochlea. In addition, Chambius appears to be the basal-most taxon among the macroscelid sample; this position is supported by the lack of some specializations of the middle ear such as inflated ossicular bones and pneumatized bulla. The presence of a secondary common crus in Chambius suggests a convergent loss of this structure, at least in Macroscelidea and Tenrecoidea. The petrosal and inner ear characters support the clade Afroinsectivora, which gathers macroscelids with other endemic African insectivorans (tenrecs and golden moles), reinforcing the hypothesis of an African origin of macroscelids. The petrosal bone and inner ear characters provide further morphological support for the debated clade (Petrodromus, Elephantulus rozeti, Macroscelides). New data underlines the fact that the cranial arterial pattern of the Eocene macroscelid Chambius was already similar to that of modern macroscelid species. It also suggests that early elephant-shrews were probably not as capable of hearing low frequencies as their extant representatives.

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“…The remarkable and unexpected genetic relationship shared by E. rozeti and Petrodromus is supported by several relatively cryptic morphological characters, including penis morphology (Woodall 1995a), occurrence of male nipples (Olbricht & Stanley 2009), skull morphology (Panchetti et al 2008;Scalici & Panchetti 2011), and innerear structure (Benoit et al 2013). Additionally, Smit et al (2011) presented chromosomal data that support the grouping affinities of these two taxa, with the addition of Macroscelides.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…Morphological synapomorphies for the group are not easy to discern, although these may include a penis with two lateral lobes and a narrowing end (Woodall 1995b) and the presence of a fully ossified stapediofacial tube (Benoit et al 2013). Analyses of basal skull morphometrics also appear to support the monophyly of Macroscelidini (Scalici & Panchetti 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Additionally, Smit et al (2011) presented chromosomal data that support the grouping affinities of these two taxa, with the addition of Macroscelides. Scalici & Panchetti (2011) informally proposed the name 'Panelephantulus' for the clade including E. rozeti, Petrodromus, and Macroscelides, however there is some confusion regarding whether "Panelephantulus" was suggested as a new genus (as suggested by their use of italics) or as a higher unranked taxonomic name (as interpreted by Benoit et al 2013). Furthermore, their intention is made unclear by the name Panelephantulus itself, which translates to "all Elephantulus", however the group appears to include all Macroscelidinae except for the members of Elephantulus.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Petrosaltator gen. nov., a new genus replacement for the North African sengi Elephantulus rozeti (Macroscelidea; Macroscelididae)

Dumbacher

2016

Zootaxa

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In 2003, a molecular phylogeny was published that examined the role of the Sahara Desert as a vicariant event in the evolution of sengis (also known as elephant-shrews.) The phylogeny included a single sample from the North African sengi, Elephantulus rozeti (Duvernoy, 1833), which was found to be more closely related to the sengi genus Petrodromus Peters, 1846 than to other Elephantulus. Here we independently test the monophyly of Elephantulus using an additional specimen of E. rozeti and similar phylogenetic analyses, and discuss additional morphological and behavioral data that support the phylogeny. We propose a revised taxonomy that reflects the current paraphyly of Elephantulus and the sister relationship of E. rozeti and Petrodromus, including a new genus name for the North African sengi, Petrosaltator rozeti gen. nov., nov. comb. We additionally define two tribes within the subfamily Macroscelidinae, the Macroscelidini (including Macroscelides, Petrodromus, and Petrosaltator), and the Elephantulini (including all other members of Elephantulus).

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Morphological cranial diversity contributes to phylogeny in soft-furred sengis (Afrotheria, Macroscelidea)

Cited by 9 publications

References 76 publications

Phylogenetic inference based on landmark data in 41 empirical data sets

Phylogenetic inference based on landmark data in 41 empirical data sets

The petrosal of the earliest elephant-shrewChambius(Macroscelidea: Afrotheria) from the Eocene of Djebel Chambi (Tunisia) and the evolution of middle and inner ear of elephant-shrews

Petrosaltator gen. nov., a new genus replacement for the North African sengi Elephantulus rozeti (Macroscelidea; Macroscelididae)

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