Reconstructed masticatory biomechanics of Peligrotherium tropicalis, a non-therian mammal from the Paleocene of Argentina
The large, bunodont, mammal Peligrotherium tropicalis is an enigmatic member of the earliest Paleocene fauna of Punta Peligro, Argentina. While being a contemporary of many of the earliest large-bodied “archaic ungulates” in the Northern Hemisphere, P. tropicalis is a remnant of an endemic Mesozoic...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:3dbfb2f4d7214acebdbb6a7f3a13e464 2023-05-15T18:42:12+02:00 Reconstructed masticatory biomechanics of Peligrotherium tropicalis, a non-therian mammal from the Paleocene of Argentina TONY HARPER CALEB F. ADKINS GUILLERMO W. ROUGIER 2022-03-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.4202/app.00912.2021 https://doaj.org/article/3dbfb2f4d7214acebdbb6a7f3a13e464 EN eng Institute of Paleobiology PAS https://www.app.pan.pl/archive/published/app67/app009122021.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/0567-7920 https://doaj.org/toc/1732-2421 doi:10.4202/app.00912.2021 0567-7920 1732-2421 https://doaj.org/article/3dbfb2f4d7214acebdbb6a7f3a13e464 Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, Vol 67, Iss 1, Pp 177-201 (2022) mammalia meridiolestida peligrotherium bifulcral mastication vertical kinematic phase Fossil man. Human paleontology GN282-286.7 Paleontology QE701-760 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.4202/app.00912.2021 2022-12-31T00:33:12Z The large, bunodont, mammal Peligrotherium tropicalis is an enigmatic member of the earliest Paleocene fauna of Punta Peligro, Argentina. While being a contemporary of many of the earliest large-bodied “archaic ungulates” in the Northern Hemisphere, P. tropicalis is a remnant of an endemic Mesozoic non-therian lineage. The interpretation of P. tropicalis as an omnivore/herbivore has therefore been difficult to evaluate, given its phylogenetic placement outside of the therian clade, and lack of many of the molar characteristics thought to be essential for the forms of mastication seen in marsupials and placentals. Here we present a three-dimensional generalization of the classical “bifulcral” biomechanical model of bite force and joint force estimation, which is capable of accommodating the wide range of mediolateral force orientations generated by the muscles of mastication, as estimated by the geometry of their rigid attachment surfaces. Using this analysis, we demonstrate that P. tropicalis is more herbivorously adapted (viz. shows a greater Group 2 relative to Group 1 jaw adductor advantage for producing postcanine orthal bite forces) than even the hypocarnivorous carnivorans Procyon lotor and Ursus arctos, and is similar to the ungulates Sus scrofa and Diceros bicornis. This similarity also extends to the mediolateral distribution of relative muscle group advantage, with Group 1 muscles (responsible for effecting the initial adduction of the working-side hemimandible into centric occlusion) having greater orthal bite forces labially; and Group 2 muscles (those responsible for producing occlusal grinding motions) being more powerful lingually. Finally, we show that P. tropicalis preserves relatively little of its orthal bite force magnitude at high gape, suggesting that large-object durophagy would not have been a likely feeding strategy. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ursus arctos Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Argentina Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 67 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
mammalia meridiolestida peligrotherium bifulcral mastication vertical kinematic phase Fossil man. Human paleontology GN282-286.7 Paleontology QE701-760 |
spellingShingle |
mammalia meridiolestida peligrotherium bifulcral mastication vertical kinematic phase Fossil man. Human paleontology GN282-286.7 Paleontology QE701-760 TONY HARPER CALEB F. ADKINS GUILLERMO W. ROUGIER Reconstructed masticatory biomechanics of Peligrotherium tropicalis, a non-therian mammal from the Paleocene of Argentina |
topic_facet |
mammalia meridiolestida peligrotherium bifulcral mastication vertical kinematic phase Fossil man. Human paleontology GN282-286.7 Paleontology QE701-760 |
description |
The large, bunodont, mammal Peligrotherium tropicalis is an enigmatic member of the earliest Paleocene fauna of Punta Peligro, Argentina. While being a contemporary of many of the earliest large-bodied “archaic ungulates” in the Northern Hemisphere, P. tropicalis is a remnant of an endemic Mesozoic non-therian lineage. The interpretation of P. tropicalis as an omnivore/herbivore has therefore been difficult to evaluate, given its phylogenetic placement outside of the therian clade, and lack of many of the molar characteristics thought to be essential for the forms of mastication seen in marsupials and placentals. Here we present a three-dimensional generalization of the classical “bifulcral” biomechanical model of bite force and joint force estimation, which is capable of accommodating the wide range of mediolateral force orientations generated by the muscles of mastication, as estimated by the geometry of their rigid attachment surfaces. Using this analysis, we demonstrate that P. tropicalis is more herbivorously adapted (viz. shows a greater Group 2 relative to Group 1 jaw adductor advantage for producing postcanine orthal bite forces) than even the hypocarnivorous carnivorans Procyon lotor and Ursus arctos, and is similar to the ungulates Sus scrofa and Diceros bicornis. This similarity also extends to the mediolateral distribution of relative muscle group advantage, with Group 1 muscles (responsible for effecting the initial adduction of the working-side hemimandible into centric occlusion) having greater orthal bite forces labially; and Group 2 muscles (those responsible for producing occlusal grinding motions) being more powerful lingually. Finally, we show that P. tropicalis preserves relatively little of its orthal bite force magnitude at high gape, suggesting that large-object durophagy would not have been a likely feeding strategy. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
TONY HARPER CALEB F. ADKINS GUILLERMO W. ROUGIER |
author_facet |
TONY HARPER CALEB F. ADKINS GUILLERMO W. ROUGIER |
author_sort |
TONY HARPER |
title |
Reconstructed masticatory biomechanics of Peligrotherium tropicalis, a non-therian mammal from the Paleocene of Argentina |
title_short |
Reconstructed masticatory biomechanics of Peligrotherium tropicalis, a non-therian mammal from the Paleocene of Argentina |
title_full |
Reconstructed masticatory biomechanics of Peligrotherium tropicalis, a non-therian mammal from the Paleocene of Argentina |
title_fullStr |
Reconstructed masticatory biomechanics of Peligrotherium tropicalis, a non-therian mammal from the Paleocene of Argentina |
title_full_unstemmed |
Reconstructed masticatory biomechanics of Peligrotherium tropicalis, a non-therian mammal from the Paleocene of Argentina |
title_sort |
reconstructed masticatory biomechanics of peligrotherium tropicalis, a non-therian mammal from the paleocene of argentina |
publisher |
Institute of Paleobiology PAS |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.4202/app.00912.2021 https://doaj.org/article/3dbfb2f4d7214acebdbb6a7f3a13e464 |
geographic |
Argentina |
geographic_facet |
Argentina |
genre |
Ursus arctos |
genre_facet |
Ursus arctos |
op_source |
Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, Vol 67, Iss 1, Pp 177-201 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://www.app.pan.pl/archive/published/app67/app009122021.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/0567-7920 https://doaj.org/toc/1732-2421 doi:10.4202/app.00912.2021 0567-7920 1732-2421 https://doaj.org/article/3dbfb2f4d7214acebdbb6a7f3a13e464 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.4202/app.00912.2021 |
container_title |
Acta Palaeontologica Polonica |
container_volume |
67 |
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1766231827499974656 |