Archaeocete-like jaws in a baleen whale
The titanic baleen whales (Cetacea, Mysticeti) have a bizarre skull morphology, including an elastic mandibular symphysis, which permits dynamic oral cavity expansion during bulk feeding. How this key innovation evolved from the sutured symphysis of archaeocetes has remained unclear. Now, mandibles...
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ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:3259978 2023-05-15T15:36:54+02:00 Archaeocete-like jaws in a baleen whale Fitzgerald, Erich M. G. 2012-02-23 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3259978 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21849306 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2011.0690 en eng The Royal Society http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3259978 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21849306 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2011.0690 This journal is © 2011 The Royal Society Palaeontology Text 2012 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2011.0690 2013-09-04T01:22:31Z The titanic baleen whales (Cetacea, Mysticeti) have a bizarre skull morphology, including an elastic mandibular symphysis, which permits dynamic oral cavity expansion during bulk feeding. How this key innovation evolved from the sutured symphysis of archaeocetes has remained unclear. Now, mandibles of the Oligocene toothed mysticete Janjucetus hunderi show that basal mysticetes had an archaeocete-like sutured symphysis. This archaic morphology was paired with a wide rostrum typical of later-diverging baleen whales. This demonstrates that increased oral capacity via rostral widening preceded the evolution of mandibular innovations for filter feeding. Thus, the initial evolution of the mysticetes' unique cranial form and huge mouths was perhaps not linked to filtering plankton, but to enhancing suction feeding on individual prey. Text baleen whale baleen whales PubMed Central (PMC) Biology Letters 8 1 94 96 |
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English |
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Palaeontology |
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Palaeontology Fitzgerald, Erich M. G. Archaeocete-like jaws in a baleen whale |
topic_facet |
Palaeontology |
description |
The titanic baleen whales (Cetacea, Mysticeti) have a bizarre skull morphology, including an elastic mandibular symphysis, which permits dynamic oral cavity expansion during bulk feeding. How this key innovation evolved from the sutured symphysis of archaeocetes has remained unclear. Now, mandibles of the Oligocene toothed mysticete Janjucetus hunderi show that basal mysticetes had an archaeocete-like sutured symphysis. This archaic morphology was paired with a wide rostrum typical of later-diverging baleen whales. This demonstrates that increased oral capacity via rostral widening preceded the evolution of mandibular innovations for filter feeding. Thus, the initial evolution of the mysticetes' unique cranial form and huge mouths was perhaps not linked to filtering plankton, but to enhancing suction feeding on individual prey. |
format |
Text |
author |
Fitzgerald, Erich M. G. |
author_facet |
Fitzgerald, Erich M. G. |
author_sort |
Fitzgerald, Erich M. G. |
title |
Archaeocete-like jaws in a baleen whale |
title_short |
Archaeocete-like jaws in a baleen whale |
title_full |
Archaeocete-like jaws in a baleen whale |
title_fullStr |
Archaeocete-like jaws in a baleen whale |
title_full_unstemmed |
Archaeocete-like jaws in a baleen whale |
title_sort |
archaeocete-like jaws in a baleen whale |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3259978 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21849306 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2011.0690 |
genre |
baleen whale baleen whales |
genre_facet |
baleen whale baleen whales |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3259978 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21849306 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2011.0690 |
op_rights |
This journal is © 2011 The Royal Society |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2011.0690 |
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Biology Letters |
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8 |
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1 |
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94 |
op_container_end_page |
96 |
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1766367338410541056 |