A Link No Longer Missing: New Evidence for the Cetotheriid Affinities of Caperea
The origins of the enigmatic pygmy right whale Caperea marginata, the only living member of its subfamily (Neobalaeninae), are an outstanding mystery of cetacean evolution. Its strikingly disparate morphology sets Caperea apart from all other whales, and has turned it into a wildcard taxon that hold...
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ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:5053404 2023-05-15T15:36:56+02:00 A Link No Longer Missing: New Evidence for the Cetotheriid Affinities of Caperea Marx, Felix G. Fordyce, R. Ewan 2016-10-06 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5053404/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27711216 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0164059 en eng Public Library of Science http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5053404/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27711216 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0164059 © 2016 Marx, Fordyce http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. CC-BY Research Article Text 2016 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0164059 2016-10-30T00:04:48Z The origins of the enigmatic pygmy right whale Caperea marginata, the only living member of its subfamily (Neobalaeninae), are an outstanding mystery of cetacean evolution. Its strikingly disparate morphology sets Caperea apart from all other whales, and has turned it into a wildcard taxon that holds the key to understanding modern baleen whale diversity. Morphological cladistics generally ally this species with right whales, whereas molecular analyses consistently cluster it with rorquals and grey whales (Balaenopteroidea). A recent study potentially resolved this conflict by proposing that Caperea belongs with the otherwise extinct Cetotheriidae, but has been strongly criticised on morphological grounds. Evidence from the neobalaenine fossil record could potentially give direct insights into morphological transitions, but is currently limited to just a single species: the Late Miocene Miocaperea pulchra, from Peru. We show that Miocaperea has a highly unusual morphology of the auditory region, resulting from a–presumably feeding-related–strengthening of the articulation of the hyoid apparatus with the skull. This distinctive arrangement is otherwise only found in the extinct Cetotheriidae, which makes Miocaperea a “missing link” that demonstrates the origin of pygmy right whales from cetotheriids, and confirms the latter’s resurrection from the dead. Text baleen whale PubMed Central (PMC) PLOS ONE 11 10 e0164059 |
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Research Article Marx, Felix G. Fordyce, R. Ewan A Link No Longer Missing: New Evidence for the Cetotheriid Affinities of Caperea |
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The origins of the enigmatic pygmy right whale Caperea marginata, the only living member of its subfamily (Neobalaeninae), are an outstanding mystery of cetacean evolution. Its strikingly disparate morphology sets Caperea apart from all other whales, and has turned it into a wildcard taxon that holds the key to understanding modern baleen whale diversity. Morphological cladistics generally ally this species with right whales, whereas molecular analyses consistently cluster it with rorquals and grey whales (Balaenopteroidea). A recent study potentially resolved this conflict by proposing that Caperea belongs with the otherwise extinct Cetotheriidae, but has been strongly criticised on morphological grounds. Evidence from the neobalaenine fossil record could potentially give direct insights into morphological transitions, but is currently limited to just a single species: the Late Miocene Miocaperea pulchra, from Peru. We show that Miocaperea has a highly unusual morphology of the auditory region, resulting from a–presumably feeding-related–strengthening of the articulation of the hyoid apparatus with the skull. This distinctive arrangement is otherwise only found in the extinct Cetotheriidae, which makes Miocaperea a “missing link” that demonstrates the origin of pygmy right whales from cetotheriids, and confirms the latter’s resurrection from the dead. |
format |
Text |
author |
Marx, Felix G. Fordyce, R. Ewan |
author_facet |
Marx, Felix G. Fordyce, R. Ewan |
author_sort |
Marx, Felix G. |
title |
A Link No Longer Missing: New Evidence for the Cetotheriid Affinities of Caperea |
title_short |
A Link No Longer Missing: New Evidence for the Cetotheriid Affinities of Caperea |
title_full |
A Link No Longer Missing: New Evidence for the Cetotheriid Affinities of Caperea |
title_fullStr |
A Link No Longer Missing: New Evidence for the Cetotheriid Affinities of Caperea |
title_full_unstemmed |
A Link No Longer Missing: New Evidence for the Cetotheriid Affinities of Caperea |
title_sort |
link no longer missing: new evidence for the cetotheriid affinities of caperea |
publisher |
Public Library of Science |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5053404/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27711216 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0164059 |
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baleen whale |
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baleen whale |
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5053404/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27711216 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0164059 |
op_rights |
© 2016 Marx, Fordyce http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. |
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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0164059 |
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