A new large-bodied Pliocene seal with unusual cutting teeth
Today, monachine seals display the largest body sizes in pinnipeds. However, the evolution of larger body sizes has been difficult to assess due to the murky taxonomic status of fossil seals, including fossils referred to Callophoca obscura , a species thought to be present on both sides of the Nort...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.201591 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.201591 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsos.201591 |
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crroyalsociety:10.1098/rsos.201591 2024-09-15T18:23:30+00:00 A new large-bodied Pliocene seal with unusual cutting teeth Rule, James P. Adams, Justin W. Rovinsky, Douglass S. Hocking, David P. Evans, Alistair R. Fitzgerald, Erich M. G. Australian Government Research Training Program Robert Blackwood Partnership Monash–Museums Victoria scholarship Australian Research Council Monash University Graduate Research Travel Grant Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology PhD Scholarship, Monash University 2020 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.201591 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.201591 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsos.201591 en eng The Royal Society http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Royal Society Open Science volume 7, issue 11, page 201591 ISSN 2054-5703 journal-article 2020 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.201591 2024-08-19T04:24:50Z Today, monachine seals display the largest body sizes in pinnipeds. However, the evolution of larger body sizes has been difficult to assess due to the murky taxonomic status of fossil seals, including fossils referred to Callophoca obscura , a species thought to be present on both sides of the North Atlantic during the Neogene. Several studies have recently called into question the taxonomic validity of these fossils, especially those from the USA, as the fragmentary lectotype specimen from Belgium is of dubious diagnostic value. We find that the lectotype isolated humerus of C. obscura is too uninformative; thus, we designate C. obscura as a nomen dubium. More complete cranial and postcranial specimens from the Pliocene Yorktown Formation are described as a new taxon, Sarcodectes magnus . The cranial specimens display adaptations towards an enhanced ability to cut or chew prey that are unique within Phocidae, and estimates indicate S. magnus to be around 2.83 m in length. A parsimony phylogenetic analysis found S. magnus is a crown monachine. An ancestral state estimation of body length indicates that monachines did not have a remarkable size increase until the evolution of the lobodontins and miroungins. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic The Royal Society Royal Society Open Science 7 11 201591 |
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Open Polar |
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The Royal Society |
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crroyalsociety |
language |
English |
description |
Today, monachine seals display the largest body sizes in pinnipeds. However, the evolution of larger body sizes has been difficult to assess due to the murky taxonomic status of fossil seals, including fossils referred to Callophoca obscura , a species thought to be present on both sides of the North Atlantic during the Neogene. Several studies have recently called into question the taxonomic validity of these fossils, especially those from the USA, as the fragmentary lectotype specimen from Belgium is of dubious diagnostic value. We find that the lectotype isolated humerus of C. obscura is too uninformative; thus, we designate C. obscura as a nomen dubium. More complete cranial and postcranial specimens from the Pliocene Yorktown Formation are described as a new taxon, Sarcodectes magnus . The cranial specimens display adaptations towards an enhanced ability to cut or chew prey that are unique within Phocidae, and estimates indicate S. magnus to be around 2.83 m in length. A parsimony phylogenetic analysis found S. magnus is a crown monachine. An ancestral state estimation of body length indicates that monachines did not have a remarkable size increase until the evolution of the lobodontins and miroungins. |
author2 |
Australian Government Research Training Program Robert Blackwood Partnership Monash–Museums Victoria scholarship Australian Research Council Monash University Graduate Research Travel Grant Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology PhD Scholarship, Monash University |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Rule, James P. Adams, Justin W. Rovinsky, Douglass S. Hocking, David P. Evans, Alistair R. Fitzgerald, Erich M. G. |
spellingShingle |
Rule, James P. Adams, Justin W. Rovinsky, Douglass S. Hocking, David P. Evans, Alistair R. Fitzgerald, Erich M. G. A new large-bodied Pliocene seal with unusual cutting teeth |
author_facet |
Rule, James P. Adams, Justin W. Rovinsky, Douglass S. Hocking, David P. Evans, Alistair R. Fitzgerald, Erich M. G. |
author_sort |
Rule, James P. |
title |
A new large-bodied Pliocene seal with unusual cutting teeth |
title_short |
A new large-bodied Pliocene seal with unusual cutting teeth |
title_full |
A new large-bodied Pliocene seal with unusual cutting teeth |
title_fullStr |
A new large-bodied Pliocene seal with unusual cutting teeth |
title_full_unstemmed |
A new large-bodied Pliocene seal with unusual cutting teeth |
title_sort |
new large-bodied pliocene seal with unusual cutting teeth |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.201591 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.201591 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsos.201591 |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_source |
Royal Society Open Science volume 7, issue 11, page 201591 ISSN 2054-5703 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.201591 |
container_title |
Royal Society Open Science |
container_volume |
7 |
container_issue |
11 |
container_start_page |
201591 |
_version_ |
1810463727511666688 |