A toothless dwarf dolphin (Odontoceti: Xenorophidae) points to explosive feeding diversification of modern whales (Neoceti)
Toothed whales (Odontoceti) are adapted for catching prey underwater and possess some of the most derived feeding specializations of all mammals, including the loss of milk teeth (monophyodonty), high tooth count (polydonty), and the loss of discrete tooth classes (homodonty). Many extant odontocete...
Published in: | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.0531 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2017.0531 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2017.0531 |
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crroyalsociety:10.1098/rspb.2017.0531 2024-06-02T08:15:17+00:00 A toothless dwarf dolphin (Odontoceti: Xenorophidae) points to explosive feeding diversification of modern whales (Neoceti) Boessenecker, Robert W. Fraser, Danielle Churchill, Morgan Geisler, Jonathan H. National Science Foundation 2017 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.0531 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2017.0531 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2017.0531 en eng The Royal Society https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences volume 284, issue 1861, page 20170531 ISSN 0962-8452 1471-2954 journal-article 2017 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.0531 2024-05-07T14:16:56Z Toothed whales (Odontoceti) are adapted for catching prey underwater and possess some of the most derived feeding specializations of all mammals, including the loss of milk teeth (monophyodonty), high tooth count (polydonty), and the loss of discrete tooth classes (homodonty). Many extant odontocetes possess some combination of short, broad rostra, reduced tooth counts, fleshy lips, and enlarged hyoid bones—all adaptations for suction feeding upon fishes and squid. We report a new fossil odontocete from the Oligocene (approx. 30 Ma) of South Carolina ( Inermorostrum xenops , gen. et sp. nov.) that possesses adaptations for suction feeding: toothlessness and a shortened rostrum (brevirostry). Enlarged foramina on the rostrum suggest the presence of enlarged lips or perhaps vibrissae. Phylogenetic analysis firmly places Inermorostrum within the Xenorophidae, an early diverging odontocete clade typified by long-snouted, heterodont dolphins. Inermorostrum is the earliest obligate suction feeder within the Odontoceti, a feeding mode that independently evolved several times within the clade. Analysis of macroevolutionary trends in rostral shape indicate stabilizing selection around an optimum rostral shape over the course of odontocete evolution, and a post-Eocene explosion in feeding morphology, heralding the diversity of feeding behaviour among modern Odontoceti. Article in Journal/Newspaper toothed whales The Royal Society Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 284 1861 20170531 |
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crroyalsociety |
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English |
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Toothed whales (Odontoceti) are adapted for catching prey underwater and possess some of the most derived feeding specializations of all mammals, including the loss of milk teeth (monophyodonty), high tooth count (polydonty), and the loss of discrete tooth classes (homodonty). Many extant odontocetes possess some combination of short, broad rostra, reduced tooth counts, fleshy lips, and enlarged hyoid bones—all adaptations for suction feeding upon fishes and squid. We report a new fossil odontocete from the Oligocene (approx. 30 Ma) of South Carolina ( Inermorostrum xenops , gen. et sp. nov.) that possesses adaptations for suction feeding: toothlessness and a shortened rostrum (brevirostry). Enlarged foramina on the rostrum suggest the presence of enlarged lips or perhaps vibrissae. Phylogenetic analysis firmly places Inermorostrum within the Xenorophidae, an early diverging odontocete clade typified by long-snouted, heterodont dolphins. Inermorostrum is the earliest obligate suction feeder within the Odontoceti, a feeding mode that independently evolved several times within the clade. Analysis of macroevolutionary trends in rostral shape indicate stabilizing selection around an optimum rostral shape over the course of odontocete evolution, and a post-Eocene explosion in feeding morphology, heralding the diversity of feeding behaviour among modern Odontoceti. |
author2 |
National Science Foundation |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Boessenecker, Robert W. Fraser, Danielle Churchill, Morgan Geisler, Jonathan H. |
spellingShingle |
Boessenecker, Robert W. Fraser, Danielle Churchill, Morgan Geisler, Jonathan H. A toothless dwarf dolphin (Odontoceti: Xenorophidae) points to explosive feeding diversification of modern whales (Neoceti) |
author_facet |
Boessenecker, Robert W. Fraser, Danielle Churchill, Morgan Geisler, Jonathan H. |
author_sort |
Boessenecker, Robert W. |
title |
A toothless dwarf dolphin (Odontoceti: Xenorophidae) points to explosive feeding diversification of modern whales (Neoceti) |
title_short |
A toothless dwarf dolphin (Odontoceti: Xenorophidae) points to explosive feeding diversification of modern whales (Neoceti) |
title_full |
A toothless dwarf dolphin (Odontoceti: Xenorophidae) points to explosive feeding diversification of modern whales (Neoceti) |
title_fullStr |
A toothless dwarf dolphin (Odontoceti: Xenorophidae) points to explosive feeding diversification of modern whales (Neoceti) |
title_full_unstemmed |
A toothless dwarf dolphin (Odontoceti: Xenorophidae) points to explosive feeding diversification of modern whales (Neoceti) |
title_sort |
toothless dwarf dolphin (odontoceti: xenorophidae) points to explosive feeding diversification of modern whales (neoceti) |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.0531 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2017.0531 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2017.0531 |
genre |
toothed whales |
genre_facet |
toothed whales |
op_source |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences volume 284, issue 1861, page 20170531 ISSN 0962-8452 1471-2954 |
op_rights |
https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.0531 |
container_title |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
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284 |
container_issue |
1861 |
container_start_page |
20170531 |
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1800739397250842624 |