Archaeocete-like jaws in a baleen whale
The titanic baleen whales (Cetacea, Mysticeti) have a bizarre skull morphology, including an elastic mandibular symphysis, which permits dynamic oral cavity expansion during bulk feeding. How this key innovation evolved from the sutured symphysis of archaeocetes has remained unclear. Now, mandibles...
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crroyalsociety:10.1098/rsbl.2011.0690 2024-06-02T08:04:01+00:00 Archaeocete-like jaws in a baleen whale Fitzgerald, Erich M. G. 2011 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2011.0690 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsbl.2011.0690 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsbl.2011.0690 en eng The Royal Society https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ Biology Letters volume 8, issue 1, page 94-96 ISSN 1744-9561 1744-957X journal-article 2011 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2011.0690 2024-05-07T14:16:18Z The titanic baleen whales (Cetacea, Mysticeti) have a bizarre skull morphology, including an elastic mandibular symphysis, which permits dynamic oral cavity expansion during bulk feeding. How this key innovation evolved from the sutured symphysis of archaeocetes has remained unclear. Now, mandibles of the Oligocene toothed mysticete Janjucetus hunderi show that basal mysticetes had an archaeocete-like sutured symphysis. This archaic morphology was paired with a wide rostrum typical of later-diverging baleen whales. This demonstrates that increased oral capacity via rostral widening preceded the evolution of mandibular innovations for filter feeding. Thus, the initial evolution of the mysticetes' unique cranial form and huge mouths was perhaps not linked to filtering plankton, but to enhancing suction feeding on individual prey. Article in Journal/Newspaper baleen whale baleen whales The Royal Society Biology Letters 8 1 94 96 |
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Open Polar |
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The Royal Society |
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crroyalsociety |
language |
English |
description |
The titanic baleen whales (Cetacea, Mysticeti) have a bizarre skull morphology, including an elastic mandibular symphysis, which permits dynamic oral cavity expansion during bulk feeding. How this key innovation evolved from the sutured symphysis of archaeocetes has remained unclear. Now, mandibles of the Oligocene toothed mysticete Janjucetus hunderi show that basal mysticetes had an archaeocete-like sutured symphysis. This archaic morphology was paired with a wide rostrum typical of later-diverging baleen whales. This demonstrates that increased oral capacity via rostral widening preceded the evolution of mandibular innovations for filter feeding. Thus, the initial evolution of the mysticetes' unique cranial form and huge mouths was perhaps not linked to filtering plankton, but to enhancing suction feeding on individual prey. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Fitzgerald, Erich M. G. |
spellingShingle |
Fitzgerald, Erich M. G. Archaeocete-like jaws in a baleen whale |
author_facet |
Fitzgerald, Erich M. G. |
author_sort |
Fitzgerald, Erich M. G. |
title |
Archaeocete-like jaws in a baleen whale |
title_short |
Archaeocete-like jaws in a baleen whale |
title_full |
Archaeocete-like jaws in a baleen whale |
title_fullStr |
Archaeocete-like jaws in a baleen whale |
title_full_unstemmed |
Archaeocete-like jaws in a baleen whale |
title_sort |
archaeocete-like jaws in a baleen whale |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2011.0690 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsbl.2011.0690 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsbl.2011.0690 |
genre |
baleen whale baleen whales |
genre_facet |
baleen whale baleen whales |
op_source |
Biology Letters volume 8, issue 1, page 94-96 ISSN 1744-9561 1744-957X |
op_rights |
https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2011.0690 |
container_title |
Biology Letters |
container_volume |
8 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
94 |
op_container_end_page |
96 |
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1800748632881758208 |