Tooth Loss Precedes the Origin of Baleen in Whales
Whales use baleen, a novel integumentary structure, to filter feed; filter feeding itself evolved at least five times in tetrapod history but demonstrably only once in mammals 1]. Living baleen whales (mysticetes) are born without teeth, but paleontological and embryological evidence demonstrate tha...
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ftsmithonian:oai:repository.si.edu:10088/96282 2023-05-15T15:37:06+02:00 Tooth Loss Precedes the Origin of Baleen in Whales Peredo, Carlos Mauricio Pyenson, Nicholas D. Marshall, Christopher D. Uhen, Mark D. 2018 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/10088/96282 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.10.047 unknown Current Biology https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0960982218314143 Peredo, Carlos Mauricio, Pyenson, Nicholas D., Marshall, Christopher D., and Uhen, Mark D. 2018. " Tooth Loss Precedes the Origin of Baleen in Whales ." Current Biology . 28 (24):3992–4000.e2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.10.047 0960-9822 https://hdl.handle.net/10088/96282 150749 doi:10.1016/j.cub.2018.10.047 Journal Article 2018 ftsmithonian https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.10.047 2020-09-09T18:36:33Z Whales use baleen, a novel integumentary structure, to filter feed; filter feeding itself evolved at least five times in tetrapod history but demonstrably only once in mammals 1]. Living baleen whales (mysticetes) are born without teeth, but paleontological and embryological evidence demonstrate that they evolved from toothed ancestors that lacked baleen entirely 2]. The mechanisms driving the origin of filter feeding in tetrapods remain obscure. Here we report Maiabalaena nesbittae gen. et sp. nov., a new fossil whale from early Oligocene rocks of Washington State, USA, lacking evidence of both teeth and baleen. The holotype possesses a nearly complete skull with ear bones, both mandibles, and associated postcrania. Phylogenetic analysis shows Maiabalaena as crownward of all toothed mysticetes, demonstrating that tooth loss preceded the evolution of baleen. The functional transition from teeth to baleen in mysticetes has remained enigmatic because baleen decays rapidly and leaves osteological correlates with unclear homology; the oldest direct evidence for fossil baleen is ~25 million years younger 3] than the oldest stem mysticetes (~36 Ma). Previous hypotheses for the origin of baleen 4, 5] are inconsistent with the morphology and phylogenetic position of Maiabalaena. The absence of both teeth and baleen in Maiabalaena is consistent with recent evidence that the evolutionary loss of teeth and origin of baleen are decoupled evolutionary transformations, each with a separate morphological and genetic basis 2, 6]. Understanding these macroevolutionary patterns in baleen whales is akin to other macroevolutionary transformations in tetrapods such as scales to feathers in birds. NMNH NH-Paleobiology Peer-reviewed Article in Journal/Newspaper baleen whales Unknown Current Biology 28 24 3992 4000.e2 |
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ftsmithonian |
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description |
Whales use baleen, a novel integumentary structure, to filter feed; filter feeding itself evolved at least five times in tetrapod history but demonstrably only once in mammals 1]. Living baleen whales (mysticetes) are born without teeth, but paleontological and embryological evidence demonstrate that they evolved from toothed ancestors that lacked baleen entirely 2]. The mechanisms driving the origin of filter feeding in tetrapods remain obscure. Here we report Maiabalaena nesbittae gen. et sp. nov., a new fossil whale from early Oligocene rocks of Washington State, USA, lacking evidence of both teeth and baleen. The holotype possesses a nearly complete skull with ear bones, both mandibles, and associated postcrania. Phylogenetic analysis shows Maiabalaena as crownward of all toothed mysticetes, demonstrating that tooth loss preceded the evolution of baleen. The functional transition from teeth to baleen in mysticetes has remained enigmatic because baleen decays rapidly and leaves osteological correlates with unclear homology; the oldest direct evidence for fossil baleen is ~25 million years younger 3] than the oldest stem mysticetes (~36 Ma). Previous hypotheses for the origin of baleen 4, 5] are inconsistent with the morphology and phylogenetic position of Maiabalaena. The absence of both teeth and baleen in Maiabalaena is consistent with recent evidence that the evolutionary loss of teeth and origin of baleen are decoupled evolutionary transformations, each with a separate morphological and genetic basis 2, 6]. Understanding these macroevolutionary patterns in baleen whales is akin to other macroevolutionary transformations in tetrapods such as scales to feathers in birds. NMNH NH-Paleobiology Peer-reviewed |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Peredo, Carlos Mauricio Pyenson, Nicholas D. Marshall, Christopher D. Uhen, Mark D. |
spellingShingle |
Peredo, Carlos Mauricio Pyenson, Nicholas D. Marshall, Christopher D. Uhen, Mark D. Tooth Loss Precedes the Origin of Baleen in Whales |
author_facet |
Peredo, Carlos Mauricio Pyenson, Nicholas D. Marshall, Christopher D. Uhen, Mark D. |
author_sort |
Peredo, Carlos Mauricio |
title |
Tooth Loss Precedes the Origin of Baleen in Whales |
title_short |
Tooth Loss Precedes the Origin of Baleen in Whales |
title_full |
Tooth Loss Precedes the Origin of Baleen in Whales |
title_fullStr |
Tooth Loss Precedes the Origin of Baleen in Whales |
title_full_unstemmed |
Tooth Loss Precedes the Origin of Baleen in Whales |
title_sort |
tooth loss precedes the origin of baleen in whales |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/10088/96282 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.10.047 |
genre |
baleen whales |
genre_facet |
baleen whales |
op_relation |
Current Biology https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0960982218314143 Peredo, Carlos Mauricio, Pyenson, Nicholas D., Marshall, Christopher D., and Uhen, Mark D. 2018. " Tooth Loss Precedes the Origin of Baleen in Whales ." Current Biology . 28 (24):3992–4000.e2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.10.047 0960-9822 https://hdl.handle.net/10088/96282 150749 doi:10.1016/j.cub.2018.10.047 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.10.047 |
container_title |
Current Biology |
container_volume |
28 |
container_issue |
24 |
container_start_page |
3992 |
op_container_end_page |
4000.e2 |
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1766367569886838784 |