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Received March 6, 2000 Reorganization of the pectoral arch has played an important role in mammalian evolution. The mere emergence of class Mammalia is associated with the reorganization of this group of bones and with acquiring the parasagittal orientation of extremities. Drastic changes in the pectoral arch have also occurred during the formation of large mammalian taxa. In the study of the postcranial skeleton of small mammals, we succeeded in finding some specific structural features of the pectoral arch, which can add to the knowledge of the evolution and phylogenetic relations within three orders: Lagomorpha, Chiroptera, and Rodentia. The total number of species and individuals studied was the following: Lagomorpha, 9 species (44 individuals); Chiroptera, 9 species (23 individuals); and Rodentia, 89 species (903 individuals). We used the material from our own fresh collections, the collection of the Zoological Museum (Moscow State University), the private collection of one of the authors (V.S.L.), and -the collection of the Department of Vertebrate Zoology and General Ecology (Faculty of Biology, Moscow State University). |
