On the Cranial Osteology of Chiroptera. I. Pteropus (Megachiroptera: Pteropodidae)

Pacific Flying Foxes (Mammalia: Chiroptera): Two New Species of Pteropus from Samoa, Probably Extinct

“…Asterisked values refer to an estimated measurement from an incomplete skull. Helgen, 2004a;Giannini et al, 2006), this unsexed specimen is a nearly mature subadult.…”

“…We describe both of these overlooked Samoan bat taxa as new species, and designate a lectotype for Pteropus samoensis Peale, 1848, to preserve the traditional usage of this epithet (i.e., for the shorter faced and more cranially robust of the two Pteropus species known to survive in Samoa today; Andersen, 1912;Wilson and Engbring, 1992). Terminology for cranial and dental features follows Giannini et al (2006) and Giannini and Simmons (2007). All measurements of length are in millimeters.…”

Comparative Morphology of the Internal Nasal Skeleton of Adult Marsupials Based on X-ray Computed Tomography

“…Endoturbinal V is housed in the sphenoidal recess of marsupials. This space is also called the sphenoidal sinus or fossa in the literature (e.g., Miller et al, 1964;Giannini et al, 2006;Sinus sphenoidalis in NAV, 2005).…”

Comparative Basicranial Anatomy of Extant Terrestrial and Semiaquatic Artiodactyla

“…There are several sources on Bos taurus basicranial anatomy (Sisson, 1911;Getty, 1975;Schaller, 1992), but in some cases the terminology differs from that used in contemporary comparative anatomy and paleontology works (Wible, 2003;Giannini et al, 2006;O'Leary et al, 2013) and many key structures are not labeled. The description here is based on two adult specimens: the bulla in situ is based on SBU-MAR 15 ( fig.…”

“…The middle ear region of the mammalian skull has been a rich source of characters for phylogenetic work (Archer, 1976;Coombs and Coombs, 1977;Novacek, 1986;Hunt, 2001;Wible, 2003;Giannini et al, 2006;Mead and Fordyce, 2009;O'Leary, 2010;O'Leary et al, 2013;Orliac, 2013) due in large part to the complex and variable nature of the petrosal bone, which forms the "roof " of the middle ear (specifically the medial and superior borders), and the associated auditory bulla, which forms its "floor" (ventral and lateral borders). For the study of many mammal species, access to the petrosal bone in situ in the skull is direct because the "floor" of the middle ear, the auditory bulla, which covers the petrosal (variably composed of different bones, including petrosal, ectotympanic, and entotympanic, among others), is standardized treatment of the skulls of extant artiodactylans, describing the relationship of the petrosal to surrounding bones across the clade, currently exists.…”