One among many: the enigmatic case of the Miocene mammal, Kolponomos newportensis

Autor: Maria Modafferi, Marina Melchionna, Silvia Castiglione, Davide Tamagnini, Luigi Maiorano, Gabriele Sansalone, Antonio Profico, Giorgia Girardi, Pasquale Raia
Přispěvatelé: Modafferi, Maria, Melchionna, Marina, Castiglione, Silvia, Tamagnini, Davide, Maiorano, Luigi, Sansalone, Gabriele, Profico, Antonio, Girardi, Giorgia, Raia, Pasquale
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 136:477-487
ISSN: 1095-8312
0024-4066
DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blac052
Popis: Kolponomos newportensis is an enigmatic Miocene mammal allied to stem Pinnipedimorpha. It has been suggested that Kolponomos fed on hard-shelled benthic marine invertebrates by using its mandible as a wedge to dislodge its prey from the sea bottom by means of strong pull and torque forces. This unique feeding style was thought to originate from a singular case of mosaic convergence in mandible biomechanics between Kolponomos and the sabretoothed cat Smilodon, which complied with similarly strong torque forces when grappling with prey. As such forces must have reflected on the cranium as well, we hypothesize that the convergence between Kolponomos and the sabretoothed cats could have affected its shape. To test this hypothesis, we looked for patterns of morphological convergence in cranial shape between Kolponomos and sabretoothed cats. We found that Kolponomos is not distinctly closer to Smilodon than a number of other pinnipeds. Yet, local areas of shape convergence with Smilodon are observed in the canine area and the posterior part of the cranium, that is where the bite applies and the temporalis muscle is located, respectively. These results indicate that the mosaic convergence present between the mandibles of Kolponomos and Smilodon is partially reflected in the cranium as well.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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