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An Additional Brain Endocast of the Ictidosaur Riograndia Guaibensis

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An Additional Brain Endocast of the Ictidosaur Riograndia Guaibensis An Acad Bras Cienc (2021) 93(Suppl. 2): e20200084 DOI 10.1590/0001-3765202120200084 Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências | Annals of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences Printed ISSN 0001-3765 I Online ISSN 1678-2690 www.scielo.br/aabc | www.fb.com/aabcjournal PALEONTOLOGY An additional brain endocast of the Running title: THE BRAIN ictidosaur Riograndia guaibensis ENDOCAST OF Riograndia riograndensis (Eucynodontia: Probainognathia): intraspecifi c variation of endocranial traits Academy Section: EARTH SCIENCES LEONARDO KERBER, JOSÉ D. FERREIRA, PEDRO HENRIQUE M. FONSECA, ARYMATHEIA FRANCO, AGUSTÍN G. MARTINELLI, MARINA B. SOARES & ANA MARIA RIBEIRO e20200084 Abstract: Recently, the morphology and encephalization of the brain endocast of the Triassic non-mammaliaform probainognathian cynodont Riograndia guaibensis were 93 studied. Here, we analyzed the brain endocast of an additional specimen of this species. (Suppl. 2) 93(Suppl. 2) The new endocast shows well-defi ned olfactory bulbs and a median sulcus dividing the hemispheres, traits that were not clearly observed in the fi rst studied specimen. DOI Encephalization quotients were also calculated, revealing similar values to other non- 10.1590/0001-3765202120200084 mammaliaform cynodonts and lower than those of the fi rst analyzed specimen. The analyzed cranium is slightly larger than the fi rst studied one and may represent an advanced ontogenetic stage. Hence, these differences may be related to the intraspecifi c variation of this cynodont or alternatively, to the preservation of each specimen. Key words: Endocranium, Ictidosauria, Micro-CT, paleoneurology. INTRODUCTION al. 2014), the new efforts have been changing the way we understand the paleoneurological With the advance of the CT-Scanning techniques, evolution of mammals and their precursors, the the endocranial study of therapsids has been non-mammaliaform cynodonts (Benoit et al. significantly increased in the last years (e.g., 2016, Rowe 2017). Castanhinha et al. 2013, Rodrigues et al. 2014, Riograndia guaibensis Bonaparte, Ferigolo, 2019, Laaß 2015, Balanoff et al. 2016, Benoit et & Ribeiro 2001 is a small cynodont of the clade al. 2016, 2017a, b, Araújo et al. 2017, 2018, Laaß Ictidosauria from the Upper Triassic (Norian) of & Kaestner 2017, Laaß et al. 2017, Pavanatto southern Brazil (Bonaparte et al. 2001, Martinelli et al. 2019, Oliveira et al. 2019, Hoffmann et & Rougier 2007). Its phylogenetic position close al. 2019). Now it is possible to reconstruct to the Mammaliaformes (Liu & Olsen 2010) three-dimensional models of the endocranial makes this species important to understand cavities non-destructively, different from the evolution of mammalian features. The previous approaches (i.e., natural and artifi cial morphology of the skull and post-cranial bones endocasts), with precise modeling of the of R. guaibensis have been studied (Bonaparte impression of the soft tissues. Despite some et al. 2001, Soares et al. 2011, Guignard et al. 2019), limitations of the method (see Rodrigues et and recently the brain endocast morphology of An Acad Bras Cienc (2021) 93(Suppl. 2) LEONARDO KERBER et al. THE BRAIN ENDOCAST OF Riograndia riograndensis one specimen (UFRGS-PV-596-T) was analyzed a maximum age of deposition of 225.42 ± 0.37 by Rodrigues et al. (2019). As mentioned million years (Langer et al. 2018). above, although a significant advance has MCN-PV 10348 was scanned with a μCT been achieved in the last years, most of our scan Skyscan™ 1173 in the Laboratório de knowledge of non-mammaliaform therapsids is Sedimentologia e Petrologia of the Pontifícia based on the study of one specimen of each Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul taxon, with some exceptions (see Pavanatto et (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, Brazil. It was used 80 kV and al. 2019 and Hoffmann et al. 2019 for a discussion 100 μA, and 1042 slices with a voxel size of 19.45 on intraspecific variation). In most cases, this μm were obtained. The slices were analyzed with is a limitation of our science, and thus, the Mimics, and the regions of interest were manually information on the intraspecific/ontogenetic segmented using a WACOM Cintiq 21UX tablet to variation is restricted until new specimens are generate 3D-models. The resulting 3D-models discovered. were rendered using Design Spark Mechanical In this study, we accessed the information 2.0. As the ventral and anterior regions of the from the brain endocast of an additional endocranial cavity of non-mammaliaform specimen referred to R. guaibensis, contributing cynodonts are usually not ossified, both regions to the neuroanatomical knowledge of Late are delimited artificially (see Pavanatto et al. Triassic non-mammaliaform cynodonts. 2019). The posteriormost region of the brain was not possible to be reconstructed confidently due to the fragmentation of the specimen. MATERIALS AND METHODS For the estimate of body mass (BM) we The analyzed specimen is housed at the employed the equation of Luo et al. (2001) [BM (-3.83+3.68 x log(SL)) Paleontology Section of the Museu de Ciências = 10 ] (SL: skull length). To calculate Naturais (MCN), Secretaria do Meio Ambiente e the encephalization quotients (EQs), we Infraestrutura (SEMA-RS) under the collection followed the protocol of Benoit et al. (2017a,b). number MCN-PV 10348. The specimen was They used three different EQs: Jerison (1973) 0.67 collected from the Linha São Luiz site, Faxinal [EQ = BV/(0.12 x BM )], Manger (2006) [EQ = 0.7294 do Soturno, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It BV/0.0535 x BM ], and Hurlburt et al. (2013) 0.553 comes from the Riograndia Assemblage Zone [EQ = BV/0.0155 x BM ], in which BV is the of the Candelária Sequence, Santa Maria brain volume and BM is the body mass. More Supersequence (Soares et al. 2011, Horn et al. details about EQs are available in Benoit et al. 2014, Schultz et al. 2020). This site has been (2017a). We also employed Eisenberg (1981) [EQ 0.74 revealed several fossils since the end of the = BV/0.0553 x BM ] to compare with previous 1990 decade, mainly of small vertebrates, interpretations. The endocranial space of non- such as non-mammaliaform cynodonts, mammalian therapsids was probably not fully procolophonids, lepidosauromorphs (basal occupied by the brain. Hence, before calculating forms and sphenodontians), and dinosaurs (see the encephalization quotients, we converted the Bonaparte et al. 2010 and Soares et al. 2011 for endocranial volume into brain volume, following 3 a review). Recently, the fossil-containing levels Benoit et al. (2017a): brain volume in cm (or brain 0.7828 (log[endocast volume in cm3]) – 0.1318 of this site were dated using 206Pb/238U, revealing mass in g) = 10 . This methodology was also applied to the specimen An Acad Bras Cienc (2021) 93(Suppl. 2) e20200084 2 | 8 LEONARDO KERBER et al. THE BRAIN ENDOCAST OF Riograndia riograndensis UFRGS-PV-596-T following the data provided by (Rowe et al. 2011), there is no cribriform plate Rodrigues et al. (2019). separating the brain cavity from the nasal cavity. Institutional abbreviations — MCN-PV, However, there is a transversal ridge on the Paleontological Collection of the, Museu de ventral surface of the frontals delimiting both Ciências Naturais, Secretaria do Meio Ambiente endocranial regions (Fig. 1e). Also, there is an e Infraestrutura, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. UFRGS- anteroposteriorly elongated ridge that separates PV, Paleovertebrate Collection, Universidade both olfactory bulbs (Fig. 1e). The bones that Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, encapsulate the hindbrain are damaged. Brazil. The brain endocast of MCN-PV 10348 was virtually reconstructed, and it was possible to access the morphology of the olfactory bulbs RESULTS and tracts, forebrain, midbrain, and part of the Brain endocast morphology hindbrain (Fig. 1f1-f4). However, the hindbrain is The specimen MCN-PV 10348 is a cranium, with not confidently reconstructed because of the the anteriormost tip of the snout broken off (Fig. preservation of the specimen. Unossified zone and pineal body are absent in the brain endocast 1a1, b1). The zygomatic arches are also missing, and the posterior region of the cranium is damaged, of R. guaibensis, as previously mentioned including part of the basicranium and the lateral (Rodrigues et al. 2019). The brain endocast occupies a large part of wall of the braincase (Fig. 1a1, b1). The specimen preserves seven left upper postcanines (being the endocranial space (Fig. 1a1, b1, d), measuring the four last better preserved) and left two 18 mm in length and 7.3 mm in height (based fragmented incisors (I2? and I3?) (Fig. 1a-c). on parameters proposed by Rodrigues et 3 The postcanine series shows imbricated crows, al. 2019) and a volume of 0.4070 cm . The which are ‘blade-like’ and composed of sharp anteriormost region of the brain endocast of and aligned cuspules (Fig. 1a-c) (see Bonaparte MCN-PV 10348 shows the cast of the olfactory et al. 2001). The anatomy of the bones and teeth bulbs, encapsulated dorsally by the frontals. The is consistent with the type and other specimens bulbs are oval-shaped, and are 4.5 mm in length referred to Riograndia guaibensis (Bonaparte et (25% of brain endocast length) and 2.5 mm in al. 2001, Soares et al. 2011), and their description width (Fig. 1f). The dorsal profile of the bulbs is is out of the scope of this contribution. anteroposteriorly convex, (Fig. 1f3-f4). They are The endocranial cavity has no ossified connected to the forebrain by a short olfactory anteroventral limits like in other non- tract, which forms a constriction between the mammaliaform therapsids (Hopson 1979, Rowe bulbs and the cerebral hemispheres, but not et al. 2011, Rodrigues et al. 2014), which exhibit forming a circular fissure (Fig. 1f1). MCN-PV 10348 has well-marked cerebral a wide orbital vacuity (Fig. 1a2, c). Regarding the roof of the endocranial cavity, there is hemispheres on the dorsal surface of the brain an anteroposteriorly elongated concavity on endocast, which are separated by the median the ventral surface of each parietal, which is sulcus (Fig.
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