Skeletal Transformations and the Origin of Baleen Whales (Mammalia, Cetacea, Mysticeti): A Study on Evolutionary Patterns
A review of the morphological patterns exhibited by all the main radiations of mysticete (baleen whale) cetaceans provided a broad assessment of the fundamental morphological transformations that occurred in the transition to the Mysticeti clade. Skull and postcranial characters were illustrated, de...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:281993f3927e4bc49bd3771c94b50424 2023-05-15T15:36:58+02:00 Skeletal Transformations and the Origin of Baleen Whales (Mammalia, Cetacea, Mysticeti): A Study on Evolutionary Patterns Michelangelo Bisconti Giorgio Carnevale 2022-03-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/d14030221 https://doaj.org/article/281993f3927e4bc49bd3771c94b50424 EN eng MDPI AG https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/3/221 https://doaj.org/toc/1424-2818 doi:10.3390/d14030221 1424-2818 https://doaj.org/article/281993f3927e4bc49bd3771c94b50424 Diversity, Vol 14, Iss 221, p 221 (2022) character distribution evolution fossil record Mysticeti paleontology pattern Biology (General) QH301-705.5 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/d14030221 2022-12-30T19:55:05Z A review of the morphological patterns exhibited by all the main radiations of mysticete (baleen whale) cetaceans provided a broad assessment of the fundamental morphological transformations that occurred in the transition to the Mysticeti clade. Skull and postcranial characters were illustrated, described and compared, and their distribution was mapped on a combined phylogeny in the search for morphological support for the principal mysticete clades (i.e., Mysticeti, Chaeomysticeti and Balaenomorpha). In particular, characters of the skull (rostrum, vertex, temporal fossa, tympanic bulla and dentary) and the postcranial appendicular skeleton (scapula, humerus, radius and ulna) were all involved at different degrees in the process of morphological transformations leading to the modern-day mysticetes. Apart from a few typical characteristics of the rostrum that were already present in the earliest-diverging mysticetes (presence of lateral process of the maxilla, presence of multiple dorsal infraorbital foramina, thin lateral border of maxilla and presence of mesorostral groove), most of the other anatomical districts were unaffected by the transition so the earliest mysticetes show a number of archaeocete characters in the tympanic bulla, dentary and skull roof. The analysis of the whole dataset supported the hypothesis that the origin and evolution of mysticetes constituted a step-wise process and that the bauplan of the modern-day mysticetes was fully assembled at the level of the common ancestor of all Balaenomorpha. Article in Journal/Newspaper baleen whale baleen whales Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Fossa ENVELOPE(9.795,9.795,62.990,62.990) Diversity 14 3 221 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
character distribution evolution fossil record Mysticeti paleontology pattern Biology (General) QH301-705.5 |
spellingShingle |
character distribution evolution fossil record Mysticeti paleontology pattern Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Michelangelo Bisconti Giorgio Carnevale Skeletal Transformations and the Origin of Baleen Whales (Mammalia, Cetacea, Mysticeti): A Study on Evolutionary Patterns |
topic_facet |
character distribution evolution fossil record Mysticeti paleontology pattern Biology (General) QH301-705.5 |
description |
A review of the morphological patterns exhibited by all the main radiations of mysticete (baleen whale) cetaceans provided a broad assessment of the fundamental morphological transformations that occurred in the transition to the Mysticeti clade. Skull and postcranial characters were illustrated, described and compared, and their distribution was mapped on a combined phylogeny in the search for morphological support for the principal mysticete clades (i.e., Mysticeti, Chaeomysticeti and Balaenomorpha). In particular, characters of the skull (rostrum, vertex, temporal fossa, tympanic bulla and dentary) and the postcranial appendicular skeleton (scapula, humerus, radius and ulna) were all involved at different degrees in the process of morphological transformations leading to the modern-day mysticetes. Apart from a few typical characteristics of the rostrum that were already present in the earliest-diverging mysticetes (presence of lateral process of the maxilla, presence of multiple dorsal infraorbital foramina, thin lateral border of maxilla and presence of mesorostral groove), most of the other anatomical districts were unaffected by the transition so the earliest mysticetes show a number of archaeocete characters in the tympanic bulla, dentary and skull roof. The analysis of the whole dataset supported the hypothesis that the origin and evolution of mysticetes constituted a step-wise process and that the bauplan of the modern-day mysticetes was fully assembled at the level of the common ancestor of all Balaenomorpha. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Michelangelo Bisconti Giorgio Carnevale |
author_facet |
Michelangelo Bisconti Giorgio Carnevale |
author_sort |
Michelangelo Bisconti |
title |
Skeletal Transformations and the Origin of Baleen Whales (Mammalia, Cetacea, Mysticeti): A Study on Evolutionary Patterns |
title_short |
Skeletal Transformations and the Origin of Baleen Whales (Mammalia, Cetacea, Mysticeti): A Study on Evolutionary Patterns |
title_full |
Skeletal Transformations and the Origin of Baleen Whales (Mammalia, Cetacea, Mysticeti): A Study on Evolutionary Patterns |
title_fullStr |
Skeletal Transformations and the Origin of Baleen Whales (Mammalia, Cetacea, Mysticeti): A Study on Evolutionary Patterns |
title_full_unstemmed |
Skeletal Transformations and the Origin of Baleen Whales (Mammalia, Cetacea, Mysticeti): A Study on Evolutionary Patterns |
title_sort |
skeletal transformations and the origin of baleen whales (mammalia, cetacea, mysticeti): a study on evolutionary patterns |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/d14030221 https://doaj.org/article/281993f3927e4bc49bd3771c94b50424 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(9.795,9.795,62.990,62.990) |
geographic |
Fossa |
geographic_facet |
Fossa |
genre |
baleen whale baleen whales |
genre_facet |
baleen whale baleen whales |
op_source |
Diversity, Vol 14, Iss 221, p 221 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/3/221 https://doaj.org/toc/1424-2818 doi:10.3390/d14030221 1424-2818 https://doaj.org/article/281993f3927e4bc49bd3771c94b50424 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/d14030221 |
container_title |
Diversity |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
221 |
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1766367404508577792 |