DOCSLIB.ORG

The Interrelationship of the Premaxilla and the Mandibular Symphysis in Morphometric Terms and on a Wide Comparative Sample of Anthropoid Primates

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Interrelationship of the Premaxilla and the Mandibular Symphysis in Morphometric Terms and on a Wide Comparative Sample of Anthropoid Primates THE INTERRELATIONSHIP OF THE PREMAXILLA AND THE MANDIBULAR SYMPHYSIS IN ANTHROPOID PRIMATES Georgia Mortzou November 2003 Dissertation submitted to University College London in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy ProQuest Number: 10011152 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest. ProQuest 10011152 Published by ProQuest LLC(2016). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 ABSTRACT The premaxilla and mandibular symphysis have been traditionally studied in isolation, despite their anatomical vicinity and functionally complementary roles. The latter are particularly seen in the accommodation of incisors and the dissipation of masticatory forces. The diversity in the morphology of both premaxilla and mandibular symphysis has been viewed in the past as phylogenetically informative, but recent research has highlighted such a large degree of inherent variability, that its diagnostic validity is being seriously challenged. 50 inter-landmark distances, reflecting the upper and lower anterior masticatory complex, were collected from 26 species of extant anthropoid primates. Morphological correlations in the upper and lower masticatory complex were investigated using Principal Components Analysis. Discriminant Function Analysis (DFA) was employed to determine the extent to which the morphology of this region reflects diet. The contribution of phylogenetic inertia to morphological and dietary correlations was evaluated with Comparative Analysis by Independent Contrasts (CAIC). All analyses were run on both raw and size-adjusted data, except CAIC which was only carried out on size-adjusted data. Intraspecifically, no conclusive correlations were observed between the premaxillary and symphyseal regions. In DFA based on size-adjusted data of the full sample, distinct premaxillary and symphyseal morphologies were found to correspond to diet across phylogenetically diverse taxa. However, when DFA was run on size-adjusted data on each of the large taxonomic units in the sample (hominoids, cercopithecoids, ceboids) interpretation of the results was hampered by the inherent lack of dietary diversity within small taxonomie units and the strong effect of phylogeny. Dietary predictions on fossil taxa were in accordance with published accounts based on other lines of evidence. When the phylogenetic constraints were controlled for, only a small number of correlations between the areas of interest were identified. Small sample sizes, however, rendered the CAIC results inconclusive. Acknowledgments Though completing a thesis feels like (and proves to be) a rather solitary and lonely process, there are always numerous individuals who contribute to the final result, without necessarily sharing the views presented in it. In this respect, I would like to take this opportunity and express my gratitude to Professor Leslie Aiello for generating my interest in hominoid evolution with her truly inspiring lectures, and for -more importantly- providing valuable advice and guidance since the initial stages of this thesis, as well as instilling necessary discipline during the critical last months of its completion. I feel similarly indebted to Professor Peter Andrews for teaching me everything I know about fossil apes (a subject which provided inspiration for the present study), for showing me how to adopt broader perspectives and for always providing immediate and constructive comments on my writings. He and his family have constantly offered moral support, while they also welcomed me in their own home where I found guidance and a more than adequate library and cast collection to work in. I would like to further express my thanks to all the people responsible for the primate collections I worked in, gathering data: Ms Paula Jenkins, the Natural History Museum, London, UK; Mr John Harrison and Mr Malcolm Harman in the Powell-Cotton Museum, Birchington-on-Sea, Kent, UK; Dr Wim van Neer in the Royal Museum of Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium; Dr Christian Smeenk in the Naturalis Museum, Leiden, The Netherlands; Dr Karin Isler in the Anthropology Department Collection, Zurich University, Zurich, Switzerland; Dr Olav Rohrer-Ertl in the Zoological and Anthropological State Collections of Munich, Germany; and Dr Richard Thorington and Ms Linda Gordon in the Smithsonian Institute, Washington D.C., USA. All these 4 individuals welcomed me in the collections under their care and provided useful advice on catalogue information, as well as more practical issues (such as accommodation). For all their help I am grateful. This fieldwork became largely possible due to generous financial support by: the Department of Anthropology (Research Fund), the Graduate School Travelling Fund, the Leakey Foundation Trust, and the Central Research Fund. I would like to further offer my thanks to Dr William Harcourt-Smith for help with the use of the Microscribe digitiser, and Dr Clare Holden for critical help and advice regarding the phylogenetic analysis and the use of the CAIC software. Similar thanks are due to the computer administrator of the Anthropology Department, UCL, Mr Chris Hagisawa. My heartfelt gratitude is due to my family, my parents and my brother, all of whom, though miles away have provided constant support and reminded me the reasons why I started this project in the first place, at times when justification for such actions eluded me. Finally, I would just like to remind Sam Cobb one more time that this project, even if it had been completed, it would have been of a very different form, had he not provided comments, help and moral support throughout the critical stages of data collection, analysis and, especially, writing up. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures 9 List of Tables 12 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW i6 1.1 Introduction to the topic i6 1.2 Premaxilla i8 1.3 Mandibular symphysis 30 1.4 Incisal morphology 40 1.5 Synthesis 41 1.6 Aims of the study 45 1.7 Structure of the study 46 CHAPTER 2 MATERIALS AND METHODS 50 2.1 Introduction 50 2.2 Extant sample parameters 51 2.3 Fossil sample 54 2.4 Definition of measurements 56 2.5 Clearing of the data and size correction 63 2.6 Measurement error 64 2.7 Principal Components Analysis 65 2.8 Discriminant Function Analysis 66 2.9 Phylogenetic Comparative Analysis 72 CHAPTERS PRINCIPAL COMPONENTS ANALYSIS 87 3.1 Introduction 87 3.2 Results 88 3.2.1 Full Sample - Raw Data 88 3 .2.2 Full Sample - Size Corrected Data 92 3 .2 . 3 Hominoids - Raw Data 95 3.2.4 Hominoids - Size Corrected Data 98 3 .2 . 5 Cercopithecoids - Raw Data 101 3.2.6 Cercopithecoids - Size Corrected Data 103 3.2.7 Ceboids - Raw Data 106 3.2.8 Ceboids - Size Corrected Data 109 3 3 Discussion 111 3 4 Conclusions 117 CHAPTER 4 DISCRIMINANT FUNCTION ANALYSIS 154 4.1 Introduction 154 4-2 Results 155 4 .2.1 Full Sample - Size Corrected Data 155 4 .2.2 Hominoids - Size Corrected Data 159 4.2.3 Cercopithecoids - Size Corrected Data 162 4.2.4 Ceboids - Size Corrected Data 165 4.3 Discussion 167 4.4 Conclusions 173 CHAPTERS PHYLOGENETIC COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS 187 5.1 Introduction 187 5.2 Materials and Methods 187 5.3 Results 192 5.3.1 Analysis of continuous variables (Crunch) 192 5.3.2 Analysis of continuous and categorical variables 194 (Brunch) 5.4 Discussion 196 5.5 Conclusions 200 CHAPTER 6 ANALYSIS OF THE FOSSIL SAMPLE 209 6.1 Introduction 209 6.2 Results 210 6.2.1 Pliopithecus (Epipliopithecus) vindobonensis 210 6.2.2 Afropithecus turkanensis 214 6.2.3 Ankarapithecus meteai 219 6.2.4 Sivapithecus indicus 222 6.2.5 Ouranopithecus macedoniensis 224 6.2.6 Proconsul heseloni 226 6.2.7 Mesopithecus pentelicus 229 6.3 Discussion 231 6.4 Conclusions 241 7 CHAPTER 7 GENERAL DISCUSSION 276 7.1 Introduction 276 7.2 The association of premaxillary and symphyseal 278 morphologies 7.3 Directions for future research 296 7.4 SUMMARY OF CONFUSIONS 299 BIBLIOGRAPHY 301 LIST OF FIGURES CHAPTER 1 1.1 Diagrammatic overview of hominoid subnasal 49 morphology CHAPTER 2 2.1 Measurements employed in this study. 84 Cranium, anterior view 2.2 Measurements employed in this study. 85 Cranium, lateral view 2.3 Measurements employed in this study. 85 Mandible, lingual view of hemisection 2.4 Measurements employed in this study. 86 Palate, inferior view 2.5 Measurements employed in this study. 87 Mandible, superior view CHAPTERS 3.1a PCA: Full Sample (Raw Data). PCi v PC2 130 3 2 a PCA: Full Sample (Size-Corrected Data). PCi v PC2 131 3.2b PCA: Full Sample (Size-Corrected Data). PCi v PC3 132 3 -2C PCA: Full Sample (Size-Corrected Data). PC2 v PC3 133 3.3a PCA: Hominoids (Raw Data). PCi v PC2 134 3.3b PCA: Hominoids (Raw Data). PCi v PC3 135 3.3c PCA: Hominoids (Raw Data). PC2 v PC3 136 3.3d PCA: Hominoids (Raw Data). PCi v PC4 137 3.3e PCA: Hominoids (Raw Data). PC3 v PC4 138 3.4a PCA: Hominoids (Size-Corrected Data). PCi v PC2 139 3.4b PCA: Hominoids (Size-Corrected Data). PCi v PC3 140 3.4c PCA: Hominoids (Size-Corrected Data). PC2 v PC3 141 3.5a PCA: Cercopithecoids (Raw Data). PCi v PC2 142 3.5b PCA: Cercopithecoids (Raw Data). PCi v PC3 143 3.5c PCA: Cercopithecoids (Raw Data). PC2 v PC3 144 3.6a PCA: Cercopithecoids (Size-Corrected Data).
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Geckos from the Middle Miocene of Devı´Nska Nova´ Ves (Slovakia): New Material and a Review of the Previous Record
    Swiss Journal of Geosciences (2018) 111:183–190 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00015-017-0292-1 (0123456789().,-volV)(0123456789().,-volV) Geckos from the middle Miocene of Devı´nska Nova´ Ves (Slovakia): new material and a review of the previous record 1 2 3 Andrej Cˇ ernˇ ansky´ • Juan D. Daza • Aaron M. Bauer Received: 16 May 2017 / Accepted: 17 July 2017 / Published online: 16 January 2018 Ó Swiss Geological Society 2017 Abstract New species of a gecko of the genus Euleptes is described here—E. klembarai. The material comes from the middle Miocene (Astaracian, MN 6) of Slovakia, more precisely from the well-known locality called Zapfe‘s fissure fillings (Devı´nska Nova´ Ves, Bratislava). The fossil material consists of isolated left maxilla, right dentary, right pterygoid and cervical and dorsal vertebrae. The currently known fossil record suggests that isolation of environment of the Zapfe‘s fissure site, created a refugium for the genus Euleptes in Central Europe (today, this taxon still inhabits southern part of Europe and North Africa—E. europea), probably resulting from the island geography of this area during the middle Miocene. The isolation of this territory might have facilitated allopatric speciation. Keywords Gekkota Á Euleptes Á Neogene Á Zapfe’s fissure 1 Introduction superb preservation of skeletal and soft tissue (Bo¨hme 1984; Daza and Bauer 2012; Daza et al. 2013b, 2016). Gekkota (geckos and pygopods) is a speciose clade of Very important and superbly preserved find in Baltic amber lepidosaurs, comprising more than 1600 extant species is represented by Yantarogecko balticus from the Early (Bauer 2013; Uetz and Freed 2017).
    [Show full text]
  • The Definition of New Dental Morphological Variants Related to Malocclusion
    10 Technical Note: The Definition of New Dental Morphological Variants Related to Malocclusion Marin A. Pilloud1,* 1 Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557 Keywords: dental crowding, midline diastema, canine diastema, overbite, underbite, overjet ABSTRACT Since the codification of the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System over 25 years ago, few additional morphological traits have been defined. This work serves to expand the cur- rent suite of traits currently collected by biological anthropologists. These traits surround various issues of malocclusion and follow clinical definitions of these traits as well as incorporate observed population variation in character states. These traits include issues of spacing (i.e., diastema and crowding) as well as mandibular and maxillary occlusion (i.e., overbite, underbite). A discussion of the etiology and utili- ty of these traits in bioarchaeological and forensic anthropological research is also given. The Arizona State University Dental Anthropology Diastema System (ASUDAS) has been the standard in defin- While the midline diastema has been defined in the ing morphological variants of the teeth for over 25 new volumes by Scott and Irish (2017) and Edgar years (Turner et al., 1991). This publication outlines (2017), their definitions differ as to what exactly 36 traits of the dentition as well as rocker jaw, and constitutes a diastema, they do not offer grades of mandibular and palatine tori. This original work is expression, nor do they incorporate a canine dia- based on a rich literature defining morphological stema. The definition presented here is based on variation of the teeth (e.g., Dahlberg ,1956; Haniha- the definitions provided in these two works as well ra ,1961; Harris and Bailit, 1980; Hrdlička ,1921; as several other preceding studies.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 1 - Introduction
    EURASIAN MIDDLE AND LATE MIOCENE HOMINOID PALEOBIOGEOGRAPHY AND THE GEOGRAPHIC ORIGINS OF THE HOMININAE by Mariam C. Nargolwalla A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of Anthropology University of Toronto © Copyright by M. Nargolwalla (2009) Eurasian Middle and Late Miocene Hominoid Paleobiogeography and the Geographic Origins of the Homininae Mariam C. Nargolwalla Doctor of Philosophy Department of Anthropology University of Toronto 2009 Abstract The origin and diversification of great apes and humans is among the most researched and debated series of events in the evolutionary history of the Primates. A fundamental part of understanding these events involves reconstructing paleoenvironmental and paleogeographic patterns in the Eurasian Miocene; a time period and geographic expanse rich in evidence of lineage origins and dispersals of numerous mammalian lineages, including apes. Traditionally, the geographic origin of the African ape and human lineage is considered to have occurred in Africa, however, an alternative hypothesis favouring a Eurasian origin has been proposed. This hypothesis suggests that that after an initial dispersal from Africa to Eurasia at ~17Ma and subsequent radiation from Spain to China, fossil apes disperse back to Africa at least once and found the African ape and human lineage in the late Miocene. The purpose of this study is to test the Eurasian origin hypothesis through the analysis of spatial and temporal patterns of distribution, in situ evolution, interprovincial and intercontinental dispersals of Eurasian terrestrial mammals in response to environmental factors. Using the NOW and Paleobiology databases, together with data collected through survey and excavation of middle and late Miocene vertebrate localities in Hungary and Romania, taphonomic bias and sampling completeness of Eurasian faunas are assessed.
    [Show full text]
  • Unraveling the Molecular Mechanisms That Lead to Supernumerary Teeth in Mice and Men: Current Concepts and Novel Approaches
    Cells Tissues Organs 2007;186:60–69 DOI: 10.1159/000102681 Unraveling the Molecular Mechanisms That Lead to Supernumerary Teeth in Mice and Men: Current Concepts and Novel Approaches a b Rena N. D’Souza Ophir D. Klein a Department of Biomedical Sciences, Baylor College of Dentistry, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, b Dallas, Tex. , and Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, Calif. , USA Key Words basic mechanisms involved is essential. The purpose of this Fibroblast growth factors Runx2 Sprouty manuscript is to review current knowledge about how su- Supernumerary teeth Transgenic mice pernumerary teeth form, the molecular insights gained through studies on mice that are deficient in certain tooth signaling molecules and the questions that require further Abstract research in the field. Copyright © 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel Supernumerary teeth are defined as those that are present in excess of the normal complement of human dentition and represent a unique developmental anomaly of patterning and morphogenesis. Despite the wealth of information gen- erated from studies on normal tooth development, the ge- netic etiology and molecular mechanisms that lead to con- genital deviations in tooth number are poorly understood. Abbreviations used in this paper For developmental biologists, the phenomenon of supernu- merary teeth raises interesting questions about the devel- BMP bone morphogenic protein opment and fate of the dental lamina. For cell and molecular CCD cleidocranial dysplasia biologists, the anomaly of supernumerary teeth inspires sev- Eda ectodysplasin gene eral questions about the actions and interactions of tran- FGF3–10 fibroblast growth factors 3–10 scription factors and growth factors that coordinate mor- FGFR1, 2 fibroblast growth factor receptors 1, 2 M1 first molar phogenesis, cell survival and programmed cell death.
    [Show full text]
  • 8. Primate Evolution
    8. Primate Evolution Jonathan M. G. Perry, Ph.D., The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Stephanie L. Canington, B.A., The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Learning Objectives • Understand the major trends in primate evolution from the origin of primates to the origin of our own species • Learn about primate adaptations and how they characterize major primate groups • Discuss the kinds of evidence that anthropologists use to find out how extinct primates are related to each other and to living primates • Recognize how the changing geography and climate of Earth have influenced where and when primates have thrived or gone extinct The first fifty million years of primate evolution was a series of adaptive radiations leading to the diversification of the earliest lemurs, monkeys, and apes. The primate story begins in the canopy and understory of conifer-dominated forests, with our small, furtive ancestors subsisting at night, beneath the notice of day-active dinosaurs. From the archaic plesiadapiforms (archaic primates) to the earliest groups of true primates (euprimates), the origin of our own order is characterized by the struggle for new food sources and microhabitats in the arboreal setting. Climate change forced major extinctions as the northern continents became increasingly dry, cold, and seasonal and as tropical rainforests gave way to deciduous forests, woodlands, and eventually grasslands. Lemurs, lorises, and tarsiers—once diverse groups containing many species—became rare, except for lemurs in Madagascar where there were no anthropoid competitors and perhaps few predators. Meanwhile, anthropoids (monkeys and apes) emerged in the Old World, then dispersed across parts of the northern hemisphere, Africa, and ultimately South America.
    [Show full text]
  • A New Dryopithecine Mandibular Fragment from the Middle Miocene
    Journal of Human Evolution 145 (2020) 102790 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Human Evolution journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jhevol Short Communications A new dryopithecine mandibular fragment from the middle Miocene of Abocador de Can Mata and the taxonomic status of ‘Sivapithecus’ occidentalis from Can Vila (Valles-Pened es Basin, NE Iberian Peninsula) * David M. Alba a, , Josep Fortuny a, Josep M. Robles a, Federico Bernardini b, c, Miriam Perez de los Ríos d, Claudio Tuniz c, b, e, Salvador Moya-Sol a a, f, g, * Clement Zanolli h, a Institut Catala de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Edifici ICTA-ICP, Carrer de les Columnes s/n, Campus de la UAB, Cerdanyola del Valles, Barcelona, 08193, Spain b Centro Fermi, Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro di Studi e Ricerche ‘Enrico Fermi’, Piazza del Viminale 1, Roma, 00184, Italy c Multidisciplinary Laboratory, The ‘Abdus Salam’ International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Via Beirut 31, Trieste, 34151, Italy d ~ Departamento de Antropología, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de Chile, Ignacio Carrera Pinto, 1045, Nunoa,~ Santiago, Chile e Center for Archaeological Science, University of Wollongong, Northfields Ave, Wollongong, NSW, 2522, Australia f Unitat d'Antropologia Biologica, Department de Biologia Animal, Biologia Vegetal i Ecologia, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Campus de la UAB, Cerdanyola del Valles, Barcelona, Spain g Institucio Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Pg. Lluís Companys 23, Barcelona, 08010, Spain h Laboratoire PACEA, UMR 5199 CNRS, Universite de Bordeaux, allee Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, 33615 Pessac Cedex, France article info Article history: 2012; Alba et al., 2018).
    [Show full text]
  • Managing the Developing Occlusion
    Managing the Developing Occlusion A guide for dental practitioners INTRODUCTION Whether knowingly or not, every dentist ORTHODONTIC ADVICE who treats children practices orthodontics. First, when considering potential orthodontic It is not enough to think of orthodontics advice for the patient, the dental practitioner should consider the following general questions: as being solely concerned with appliances. 1. Is the patient’s basic dental health under Orthodontics is the longitudinal care of control and is the parent available for the developing occlusion and any consultation? problems associated with it. All qualified 2. Is the orthodontic condition minor, moderate dental practitioners should be encouraged or severe in nature and does it cause the patient to consider the orthodontic requirements concern? of their patients. 3. Can the practitioner provide adequate advice in the short, medium and long term, or is specialist advice required and, if so, at what level? This booklet is designed to help general dental practitioners examine children 4. Would the patient and parent prefer a specialist opinion? from an orthodontic viewpoint. It will highlight the assessment of patients at TREATMENT different stages of dental development Secondly, when considering potential orthodontic and will outline the interceptive treatment for patients, the dental practitioner should consider the following general questions: procedures and treatments available to deal with the conditions most commonly 1. Does the patient want the condition changed? encountered. 2. Is the patient receptive to the idea of, and available for, orthodontic treatment? Before specific assessment and 3. Is specialist treatment required and, if so, at treatments are considered, a general what level? view of the developing dentition and face is advisable.
    [Show full text]
  • A New Dryopithecine Mandibular Fragment from the Middle Miocene
    A new dryopithecine mandibular fragment from the middle Miocene of Abocador de Can Mata and the taxonomic status of ‘Sivapithecus’ occidentalis from Can Vila (Vallès-Penedès Basin, NE Iberian Peninsula) David Alba, Josep Fortuny, Josep Robles, Federico Bernardini, Miriam Pérez de los Ríos, Claudio Tuniz, Salvador Moyà-Solà, Clément Zanolli To cite this version: David Alba, Josep Fortuny, Josep Robles, Federico Bernardini, Miriam Pérez de los Ríos, et al.. A new dryopithecine mandibular fragment from the middle Miocene of Abocador de Can Mata and the tax- onomic status of ‘Sivapithecus’ occidentalis from Can Vila (Vallès-Penedès Basin, NE Iberian Penin- sula). Journal of Human Evolution, Elsevier, 2020, 145, pp.102790. 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102790. hal-03002540 HAL Id: hal-03002540 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03002540 Submitted on 12 Nov 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Postprint of: Alba, D. M., Fortuny, J., Robles, J. M., Bernardini, F., Pérez de los Ríos, M., Tuniz, C., Moyà-Solà, S., & Zanolli, C. (2020). A new dryopithecine mandibular fragment from the middle Miocene of Abocador de Can Mata and the taxonomic status of ‘Sivapithecus’ occidentalis from Can Vila (Vallès-Penedès Basin, NE Iberian Peninsula).
    [Show full text]
  • Marsupials and Rodents of the Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea Front Cover: a Recently Killed Specimen of an Adult Female Melomys Matambuai from Manus Island
    Occasional Papers Museum of Texas Tech University Number xxx352 2 dayNovember month 20172014 TITLE TIMES NEW ROMAN BOLD 18 PT. MARSUPIALS AND RODENTS OF THE ADMIRALTY ISLANDS, PAPUA NEW GUINEA Front cover: A recently killed specimen of an adult female Melomys matambuai from Manus Island. Photograph courtesy of Ann Williams. MARSUPIALS AND RODENTS OF THE ADMIRALTY ISLANDS, PAPUA NEW GUINEA RONALD H. PINE, ANDREW L. MACK, AND ROBERT M. TIMM ABSTRACT We provide the first account of all non-volant, non-marine mammals recorded, whether reliably, questionably, or erroneously, from the Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea. Species recorded with certainty, or near certainty, are the bandicoot Echymipera cf. kalubu, the wide- spread cuscus Phalanger orientalis, the endemic (?) cuscus Spilocuscus kraemeri, the endemic rat Melomys matambuai, a recently described species of endemic rat Rattus detentus, and the commensal rats Rattus exulans and Rattus rattus. Species erroneously reported from the islands or whose presence has yet to be confirmed are the rats Melomys bougainville, Rattus mordax, Rattus praetor, and Uromys neobrittanicus. Included additional specimens to those previously reported in the literature are of Spilocuscus kraemeri and two new specimens of Melomys mat- ambuai, previously known only from the holotype and a paratype, and new specimens of Rattus exulans. The identity of a specimen previously thought to be of Spilocuscus kraemeri and said to have been taken on Bali, an island off the coast of West New Britain, does appear to be of that species, although this taxon is generally thought of as occurring only in the Admiralties and vicinity. Summaries from the literature and new information are provided on the morphology, variation, ecology, and zoogeography of the species treated.
    [Show full text]
  • Small Mammal Dentistry
    Dental Checkup Small Mammal Dentistry Kathy Istace, CVT, VTS (Dentistry) any veterinary technicians are unfamiliar with the oral Ferrets conditions of small mammals and the treatment options. The dental formula for ferrets is 2(I3/3, C1/1, P3/3, M1/2) = 34.6 MBy the time their owners notice a problem, these small Ferret teeth closely resemble feline teeth in form and function, patients may already be debilitated. Technicians and pet owners but ferrets have an additional mandibular premolar and molar. need to be knowledgeable about the particular needs of small mammals in order for these animals to have healthy mouths. Hedgehogs The dental formula for hedgehogs is 2(I2–3/2, C1/1, P3–4/2–3, Oral Anatomy M3/3) = 34 to 40.7 Rabbits Hedgehogs are insectivores with a long, narrow snout and a The dental formula for rabbits is 2(I2/1, C0/0, P3/2, M3/3) = 28.1 primitive tooth structure. The incisors are used to grasp prey, and Rabbit teeth grow continuously and have no true anatomic roots.2 the canine teeth may resemble incisors or first premolars. All Rabbits have two incisors in each upper quadrant: a rostral and a teeth have true anatomic roots and do not grow continuously.8 caudal tooth (the caudal teeth are often calledpeg teeth). The lower incisors occlude between the upper posterior incisors and the peg Sugar Gliders teeth in a scissor-like fashion to bite off grasses and hay. Rabbits do The dental formula for sugar gliders is 2(I3/2, C1/0, P3/3, M4/4) not have canine teeth; between the incisors and premolars is a long = 40.9 Sugar gliders are small marsupials with teeth designed for gap called a diastema, which is occupied by cheek tissue when the stripping bark from trees.
    [Show full text]
  • Evolution of the Hominoid Vertebral Column by Scott
    EVOLUTION OF THE HOMINOID VERTEBRAL COLUMN BY SCOTT A. WILLIAMS DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2011 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor John D. Polk, Co-Chair Assistant Professor Charles C. Roseman, Co-Chair Assistant Professor Laura L. Shackelford Professor Steven R. Leigh Professor Lyle W. Konigsberg ABSTRACT This is a study of the numerical composition of the vertebral column, the central structure of the vertebrate body plan and one that plays an instrumental role in locomotion and posture. Recent models of hominoid vertebral evolution invoke very different roles for homology and homoplasy in the evolution of vertebral formulae in living and extinct hominoids. These processes are fundamental to the emergence of morphological structures and reflect similarity by common descent (homology) or similarity by independent evolution (homoplasy). Although the "short backs," reflecting reduced lumbar regions, of living hominoids have traditionally been interpreted as homologies and shared derived characters (synapomorphies) of the ape and human clade, recent studies of variation in extant hominoid vertebral formulae have challenged this hypothesis. Instead, a "long-back" model, in which primitive, long lumbar regions are retained throughout hominoid evolution and are reduced independently in six lineages of modern hominoids, is proposed. The recently described skeleton of Ardipithecus ramidus is interpreted to support the long-back model. Here, larger samples are collected and placed in a larger phylogenetic context than previous studies. Analyses of over 8,000 mammal specimens, representing all major groups and focusing on anthropoid primates, allow for the reconstruction of ancestral vertebral formulae throughout mammalian evolution and a determination of the uniqueness of hominoid vertebral formulae.
    [Show full text]
  • Subfossil Lemurs of Madagascar
    CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE Subfossil Lemurs of Madagascar LAURIE R. GODFREY, WILLIAM L. JUNGERS, AND DAVID A. BURNEY Madagascar’s living lemurs (order Primates) belong to a radia- on steady, gradual diversifi cation would suggest. We believe tion recently ravaged by extirpation and extinction. There that the latter scenario is more consistent with the fossil are three extinct and fi ve extant families (two with extinct record. members) of lemurs on an island of less than 600,000 km2. The question of how lemurs got to Madagascar is still far This level of familial diversity characterizes no other primate from resolved (Godinot, 2006; Masters et al., 2006; Stevens radiation. The remains of up to 17 species of recently extinct and Heesy, 2006; Tattersall, 2006a, 2006b). It is clear that (or subfossil lemurs) have been found alongside those of still Madagascar (with the Indian plate) separated from Africa extant lemurs at numerous Holocene and late Pleistocene long before primates evolved and that it arrived at its present sites in Madagascar (fi gure 21.1, table 21.1). The closest rela- position relative to Africa by 120–130 Ma (Krause et al., 1997; tives of the lemurs are the lorisiform primates of continental Roos et al., 2004; Masters et al., 2006; Rabinowitz and Woods, Africa and Asia; together with the lemurs, these comprise the 2006). Most scholars favor chance rafting of an ancestral suborder Strepsirrhini. lemur from continental Africa to Madagascar (Krause et al., Most researchers have defended an ancient Gondwanan 1997; Kappeler, 2000; Roos et al., 2004; Rabinowitz and (African or Indo-Madagascan) origin for lemurs.
    [Show full text]