Differentiating Microtus xanthognathus and Microtus pennsylvanicus Lower First Molars Using Discriminant Analysis of Landmark Data
The distinct ecological requirements of Microtus xanthognathus (yellow-cheeked vole or taiga vole) and M. pennsylvanicus (meadow vole) warrant accurate discrimination of their remains in studies of paleoecology and past biogeographical shifts. An occlusal length of the lower 1st molars (ml) that is...
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fthighwire:oai:open-archive.highwire.org:jmammal:87/6/1261 2023-05-15T18:30:48+02:00 Differentiating Microtus xanthognathus and Microtus pennsylvanicus Lower First Molars Using Discriminant Analysis of Landmark Data Wallace, Steven C. 2006-12-29 00:00:00.0 text/html http://jmammal.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/87/6/1261 https://doi.org/10.1644/05-MAMM-A-209R3.1 en eng Oxford University Press http://jmammal.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/87/6/1261 http://dx.doi.org/10.1644/05-MAMM-A-209R3.1 Copyright (C) 2006, Oxford University Press Feature Articles TEXT 2006 fthighwire https://doi.org/10.1644/05-MAMM-A-209R3.1 2016-11-16T18:33:48Z The distinct ecological requirements of Microtus xanthognathus (yellow-cheeked vole or taiga vole) and M. pennsylvanicus (meadow vole) warrant accurate discrimination of their remains in studies of paleoecology and past biogeographical shifts. An occlusal length of the lower 1st molars (ml) that is >3.2 mm for M. xanthognathus is the method most frequently used to separate these 2 taxa in archaeological and paleontological samples. However, these measurements alone are unreliable because some specimens of M. pennsylvanicus overlap smaller individuals of M. xanthognathus in size. Therefore, I created and tested a morphometric technique that discriminates Recent lower 1st molars (mis) of M. pennsylvanicus from those of M. xanthognathus , and is applicable to other taxa (both modern and fossil). Despite overlapping occlusal length, my discriminant function based on landmark data correctly classified 100% ( n = 53) of Recent mis from the 2 taxa and 97.7% (43 of 44) of (assumed) mis of M. pennsylvanicus from an archaeological site from about AD 1200 in central Nebraska. This landmark scheme is applicable to fossil and modern Microtus worldwide. Text taiga HighWire Press (Stanford University) Journal of Mammalogy 87 6 1261 1269 |
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HighWire Press (Stanford University) |
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English |
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Feature Articles |
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Feature Articles Wallace, Steven C. Differentiating Microtus xanthognathus and Microtus pennsylvanicus Lower First Molars Using Discriminant Analysis of Landmark Data |
topic_facet |
Feature Articles |
description |
The distinct ecological requirements of Microtus xanthognathus (yellow-cheeked vole or taiga vole) and M. pennsylvanicus (meadow vole) warrant accurate discrimination of their remains in studies of paleoecology and past biogeographical shifts. An occlusal length of the lower 1st molars (ml) that is >3.2 mm for M. xanthognathus is the method most frequently used to separate these 2 taxa in archaeological and paleontological samples. However, these measurements alone are unreliable because some specimens of M. pennsylvanicus overlap smaller individuals of M. xanthognathus in size. Therefore, I created and tested a morphometric technique that discriminates Recent lower 1st molars (mis) of M. pennsylvanicus from those of M. xanthognathus , and is applicable to other taxa (both modern and fossil). Despite overlapping occlusal length, my discriminant function based on landmark data correctly classified 100% ( n = 53) of Recent mis from the 2 taxa and 97.7% (43 of 44) of (assumed) mis of M. pennsylvanicus from an archaeological site from about AD 1200 in central Nebraska. This landmark scheme is applicable to fossil and modern Microtus worldwide. |
format |
Text |
author |
Wallace, Steven C. |
author_facet |
Wallace, Steven C. |
author_sort |
Wallace, Steven C. |
title |
Differentiating Microtus xanthognathus and Microtus pennsylvanicus Lower First Molars Using Discriminant Analysis of Landmark Data |
title_short |
Differentiating Microtus xanthognathus and Microtus pennsylvanicus Lower First Molars Using Discriminant Analysis of Landmark Data |
title_full |
Differentiating Microtus xanthognathus and Microtus pennsylvanicus Lower First Molars Using Discriminant Analysis of Landmark Data |
title_fullStr |
Differentiating Microtus xanthognathus and Microtus pennsylvanicus Lower First Molars Using Discriminant Analysis of Landmark Data |
title_full_unstemmed |
Differentiating Microtus xanthognathus and Microtus pennsylvanicus Lower First Molars Using Discriminant Analysis of Landmark Data |
title_sort |
differentiating microtus xanthognathus and microtus pennsylvanicus lower first molars using discriminant analysis of landmark data |
publisher |
Oxford University Press |
publishDate |
2006 |
url |
http://jmammal.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/87/6/1261 https://doi.org/10.1644/05-MAMM-A-209R3.1 |
genre |
taiga |
genre_facet |
taiga |
op_relation |
http://jmammal.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/87/6/1261 http://dx.doi.org/10.1644/05-MAMM-A-209R3.1 |
op_rights |
Copyright (C) 2006, Oxford University Press |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1644/05-MAMM-A-209R3.1 |
container_title |
Journal of Mammalogy |
container_volume |
87 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
1261 |
op_container_end_page |
1269 |
_version_ |
1766214383876177920 |