The evolution of the cervid skull
Cervidae (deer) forms a large family of cud-chewing, even-toed mammals (Artiodactyla: Ruminantia). It is closely related to Moschidae (musk deer), Bovidae (cattle, goats, sheep and antelopes), Giraffidae (giraffes), and Antilocapridae (American pronghorns); Tragulidae (mouse-deer and chevrotains) co...
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Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
2021
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| Online Access: | https://edoc.ub.uni-muenchen.de/29950/1/Schilling_Ann-Marie.pdf http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:19-299505 https://edoc.ub.uni-muenchen.de/29950/7/Schilling_container.zip |
| Summary: | Cervidae (deer) forms a large family of cud-chewing, even-toed mammals (Artiodactyla: Ruminantia). It is closely related to Moschidae (musk deer), Bovidae (cattle, goats, sheep and antelopes), Giraffidae (giraffes), and Antilocapridae (American pronghorns); Tragulidae (mouse-deer and chevrotains) com-prises somewhat more distant relatives. Cervids originated in the Early Miocene (~ 20 mya) in Europe. Cervids form a highly diversified group and occupy a wide range of ecological niches, from tropical forests to Arctic tundra. They may be found in Europe and Asia, and the Americas. In Africa, cervids are native only to a narrow range along the Mediterranean. No native cervids are known from Australia and Antarctica. This wide geographic and ecological distribution goes along with extensive adaptations. Extant cervids range in size from the small South American pudus, weighing about 6 kg to the large moose, weighing up to 600 kg. They also differ in their social behaviour, living either solitary or in male-dominated groups. However varied cervids may be, their best-known and diagnostic commonality is that males develop antlers which are shed and regularly regrown. The one exception is the water deer which lacks antlers but shows enlarged upper canines. A central theme of the present thesis is whether and how the development of antlers and the ecological diversification affected the structure of the skull. Specifically, we wanted to clarify how the size and shape of the facial facet of the lacrimal bone vary in extant cervids and two iconic extinct cervids from the last glacial. The lacrimal facial facet holds a central position between the frontal bone, where antlers arise, and the maxilla. We compared the size and shape of the lacrimal facial facet of ten extant cervid species using Moschus and Tragulus as outgroups. Neither size nor shape of this central bone of the facial skeleton could be related to the species' specific ecology or behaviour analysed. However, both measures were found to correlate with skull ... |
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