Neurovascular evidence for a co-occurrence of teeth and baleen in an Oligocene mysticete and the transition to filter-feeding in baleen whales
Abstract Extant baleen whales (Mysticeti) have a deciduous foetal dentition, but are edentulous at birth. Fossils reveal that the earliest mysticetes possessed an adult dentition. Aetiocetids, a diverse clade of Oligocene toothed mysticetes, have a series of small palatal foramina and associated sul...
Published in: | Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society |
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Language: | English |
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2021
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab017 https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article-pdf/194/2/395/49602511/zlab017.pdf |
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croxfordunivpr:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab017 2024-09-30T14:32:46+00:00 Neurovascular evidence for a co-occurrence of teeth and baleen in an Oligocene mysticete and the transition to filter-feeding in baleen whales Ekdale, Eric G Deméré, Thomas A 2021 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab017 https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article-pdf/194/2/395/49602511/zlab017.pdf en eng Oxford University Press (OUP) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society volume 194, issue 2, page 395-415 ISSN 0024-4082 1096-3642 journal-article 2021 croxfordunivpr https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab017 2024-09-10T04:11:16Z Abstract Extant baleen whales (Mysticeti) have a deciduous foetal dentition, but are edentulous at birth. Fossils reveal that the earliest mysticetes possessed an adult dentition. Aetiocetids, a diverse clade of Oligocene toothed mysticetes, have a series of small palatal foramina and associated sulci medial to the postcanine dentition. The openings have been homologized with lateral palatal foramina that transmit neurovascular structures to baleen in extant mysticetes, thereby implying a co-occurrence of teeth and baleen in aetiocetids. However, homology of the foramina and sulci have been questioned. Using CT-imaging, we report that the lateral palatal foramina of Aetiocetus weltoni are connected internally to the superior alveolar canal, which transmits neurovascular structures to baleen in extant mysticetes and to teeth in extant odontocetes. Furthermore, the lateral palatal foramina of Aetiocetus are separate from the more medially positioned canals for the greater palatine arterial system. These results provide critical evidence to support the hypothesis that the superior alveolar neurovasculature was co-opted in aetiocetids and later diverging mysticetes to serve a new function associated with baleen. We evaluate competing hypotheses for the transition from teeth to baleen, and explore the transition from raptorial feeding in early mysticetes to filter-feeding in extant species. Article in Journal/Newspaper baleen whales Oxford University Press Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Oxford University Press |
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croxfordunivpr |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Extant baleen whales (Mysticeti) have a deciduous foetal dentition, but are edentulous at birth. Fossils reveal that the earliest mysticetes possessed an adult dentition. Aetiocetids, a diverse clade of Oligocene toothed mysticetes, have a series of small palatal foramina and associated sulci medial to the postcanine dentition. The openings have been homologized with lateral palatal foramina that transmit neurovascular structures to baleen in extant mysticetes, thereby implying a co-occurrence of teeth and baleen in aetiocetids. However, homology of the foramina and sulci have been questioned. Using CT-imaging, we report that the lateral palatal foramina of Aetiocetus weltoni are connected internally to the superior alveolar canal, which transmits neurovascular structures to baleen in extant mysticetes and to teeth in extant odontocetes. Furthermore, the lateral palatal foramina of Aetiocetus are separate from the more medially positioned canals for the greater palatine arterial system. These results provide critical evidence to support the hypothesis that the superior alveolar neurovasculature was co-opted in aetiocetids and later diverging mysticetes to serve a new function associated with baleen. We evaluate competing hypotheses for the transition from teeth to baleen, and explore the transition from raptorial feeding in early mysticetes to filter-feeding in extant species. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ekdale, Eric G Deméré, Thomas A |
spellingShingle |
Ekdale, Eric G Deméré, Thomas A Neurovascular evidence for a co-occurrence of teeth and baleen in an Oligocene mysticete and the transition to filter-feeding in baleen whales |
author_facet |
Ekdale, Eric G Deméré, Thomas A |
author_sort |
Ekdale, Eric G |
title |
Neurovascular evidence for a co-occurrence of teeth and baleen in an Oligocene mysticete and the transition to filter-feeding in baleen whales |
title_short |
Neurovascular evidence for a co-occurrence of teeth and baleen in an Oligocene mysticete and the transition to filter-feeding in baleen whales |
title_full |
Neurovascular evidence for a co-occurrence of teeth and baleen in an Oligocene mysticete and the transition to filter-feeding in baleen whales |
title_fullStr |
Neurovascular evidence for a co-occurrence of teeth and baleen in an Oligocene mysticete and the transition to filter-feeding in baleen whales |
title_full_unstemmed |
Neurovascular evidence for a co-occurrence of teeth and baleen in an Oligocene mysticete and the transition to filter-feeding in baleen whales |
title_sort |
neurovascular evidence for a co-occurrence of teeth and baleen in an oligocene mysticete and the transition to filter-feeding in baleen whales |
publisher |
Oxford University Press (OUP) |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab017 https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article-pdf/194/2/395/49602511/zlab017.pdf |
genre |
baleen whales |
genre_facet |
baleen whales |
op_source |
Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society volume 194, issue 2, page 395-415 ISSN 0024-4082 1096-3642 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab017 |
container_title |
Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society |
_version_ |
1811636831495651328 |