似哺乳类爬行动物和哺乳类动物脑颅侧壁构造类型的演替

本文对从原始似哺乳爬行动物进化到高级兽类哺乳动物过程中脑颅侧壁所发生的形态演化进行了分析,根据构造上的不同,将这些动物的脑颅侧壁的构造方式划分为四个构造类型,代表四个进化阶段。     

THE DISCOVERY OF THE CRIBRIFORM PLATE IN SINOCONODON YOUNCI (TRICONODONTA,MAMMALIA)

ThepresenceofacribriformplateinlivingplacentalsandthemarsupialsandabsenceinmonotremesmayimplythatmammalsarediphyleticandtheoriginofcribriformplatetookplacewithinthcMammalia.Buttheconc1usioncamefromthe1ivingmammalsonly,andhasnotbeensupportedbypalaeontologicalevidence.Itsappearanceinoneoftheoldestandthemostprimitivemammals,Sinoconodon,possiblysuggeststhatthecribriformplatemayoccurearlier,i.e.inthetimeofthetransitionfromtheadvancedmammal-likereptiles,Cynodontia,tothetruemammals,andthatthedistrib…     

Cranial structure and relationships of the Liassic mammal Sinoconodon*

The skull of the 'Rhaeto-Liassic' mammal Sinoconodon changchiawaensis (Young) from the lower Lufeng Series of China is described. It is characterized by a relatively larger and more robust dentary condyle and a greater reduction of the post-dentary bones than are present in the Morganucodontidae, Kuehneotheriidae, and Dinnetherium. In other aspects Sinoconodon is more primitive; precise post-canine occlusion is lacking, the mandibular symphysis is deep, the jaw articulation lies below a line projected through the apices of the teeth, the pterygoparoccipital foramen is large and the post-canine teeth cannot be divided into molars and premolars. The jaw articulation and braincase of Sinoconodon are compared with those of the two cynodont therapsids Probainognathus and Thrinaxodon. It is concluded that in the transition from therapsid to mammal the medial surface of the groove in the squamosal housing the quadrate was lost and, as a result, in Sinoconodon, Morganucodon and Dinnetherium the hollow medial surface of the quadrate abutted directly against the paroccipital process. A definition for the Class Mammalia is given. It is suggested that the three-boned middle ear was present in Cretaceous triconodonts, and that it probably arose independently in the lines leading to multituberculates and Cretaceous therians. The structure of recently discovered 'Rhaeto-Liassic' mammals and that of Sinoconodon indicates that there was greater diversity among the earliest known mammals than was previously thought.     

Cranial anatomy of the extinct amphisbaenian Rhineura hatcherii (Squamata, Amphisbaenia) based on high-resolution X-ray computed tomography

The fossilized skull of a small extinct amphisbaenian referable to Rhineura hatcherii Baur is described from high-resolution X-ray computed tomographic (HRXCT) imagery of a well-preserved mature specimen from the Brule Formation of Badlands National Park, South Dakota. Marked density contrast between bones and surrounding matrix and at bone-to-bone sutures enabled the digital disarticulation of individual skull elements. These novel visualizations provide insight into the otherwise inaccessible three-dimensionally complex structure of the bones of the skull and their relationships to one another, and to the internal cavities and passageways that they enclose. This study corrects several previous misidentifications of elements in the rhineurid skull and sheds light on skull construction generally in "shovel-headed" amphisbaenians. The orbitosphenoids in R. hatcherii are paired and entirely enclosed within the braincase by the frontals; this is in contrast to the condition in many extant amphisbaenians, in which a large azygous orbitosphenoid occupies a topologically distinct area of the skull, closing the anterolateral braincase wall. Rhineura hatcherii retains a vestigial jugal and a partially fused squamosal, both of which are absent in many extant species. Sculpturing on the snout of R. hatcherii represents perforating canals conveying sensory innervation; thus, the face of R. hatcherii receives cutaneous innervation to an unprecedented degree. The HRXCT data (available at www.digimorph.org) corroborate and extend previous hypotheses that the mechanical organization of the head in Rhineura is organized to a large degree around its burrowing lifestyle.     

A new fossil from the Jurassic of Patagonia reveals the early basicranial evolution and the origins of Crocodyliformes

Extant crocodylians have a limited taxonomic and ecological diversity but they belong to a lineage (Crocodylomorpha) that includes basal and rather generalized species and a highly diverse clade, Crocodyliformes. The latter was among the most successful groups of Mesozoic tetrapods, both in terms of taxonomic and ecological diversity. Crocodyliforms thrived in terrestrial, semiaquatic, and marine environments, and their fossil diversity includes carnivorous, piscivorous, insectivorous, and herbivorous species. This remarkable ecological and trophic diversity is thought only to occur in forms with a completely akinetic skull, characterized by a functionally integrated and tightly sutured braincase‐quadrate‐palate complex. However, the patterns of evolutionary change that led to the highly modified skull of crocodyliforms and that likely enabled their diversification remain poorly understood. Herein, a new basal crocodylomorph from the Late Jurassic of Patagonia is described, Almadasuchus figarii gen. et sp. nov. The new taxon is known from a well‐preserved posterior region of the skull as well as other craniomandibular and postcranial remains. Almadasuchus figarii differs from all other crocodylomorphs in the presence of six autapomorphic features, including the presence of a large lateral notch on the upper temporal bar, an otic shelf of the squamosal that is wider than long, a deep subtriangular concavity on the posterolateral surface of the squamosal, and an elongated pneumatopore on the ventral surface of the quadrate. Phylogenetic analysis focused on the origin of Crocodyliformes places Almadasuchus as the sister group of Crocodyliformes, supported by synapomorphic features of the skull (e.g. subtriangular basisphenoid, absence of basipterygoid process, absence of a sagittal ridge on the frontal, and a flat anterior skull roof with an ornamented dorsal surface). New braincase information provided by Almadasuchus and other crocodylomorphs indicates that most of the modifications on the posterior region of the skull of crocodyliforms, including the strongly sutured braincase, quadrate, and the extensive secondary palate appeared in a stepwise manner, and pre‐dated the evolutionary changes in the snout, jaws, and dentition. This indicates that the progressively increased rigidity of the skull provided the structural framework that allowed the great ecological diversification of crocodyliforms during the course of the Mesozoic. The phylogenetic pattern of character acquisition inferred for the strongly sutured (akinetic) skull and the appearance of more diverse feeding behaviours that create high mechanical loads on the skull provides another interesting parallel between the evolution of Mesozoic crocodyliforms and the evolutionary origins of mammals.     

Cranial Morphology of a Pantolestid Eutherian Mammal from the Eocene Bridger Formation,Wyoming, USA: Implications for Relationships and Habitat

Pantolestinae is a eutherian subfamily of mammals whose members are known from the middle early Paleocene through at least the beginning of the Oligocene of North America. They are also known from Europe, and possibly Africa. A lack of information on pantolestine skulls has prevented the use of cranial anatomy in evaluation of this group’s enigmatic higher-level phylogenetic relationships. Conversely, postcranial skeletons are well known and locomotor interpretations based on them are robust. The most complete known skull of a pantolestine, Pantolestes longicaudus (YPM 13525), is described here and compared to potential close fossil relatives and extant mammals. Semicircular canal morphology is used to test locomotor hypotheses. YPM 13525 lacks an ossified bulla. It has a mediolaterally broad basioccipital, a large entoglenoid process, and a deeply incised glaserian fissure of the squamosal, caudal and rostral tympanic processes on the petrosal, a foramen for an internal carotid artery (ICA) that entered the tympanic cavity from a posteromedial position, bony tubes enclosing the main stem and transpromontorial branch of the ICA, a large anterior carotid foramen formed within the basisphenoid, evidence of a stapedial artery ramus superior, a groove on the dorsal aspect of the basisphenoid leading to the piriform fenestra possibly for drainage of the cavernous sinus to an extracranial inferior petrosal sinus, a dorsum sellae with well-developed posterior clinoid processes, a foramen rotundum within the alisphenoid, and a sphenorbital fissure between the alisphenoid and orbitosphenoid. Overall, the morphology is not strikingly similar to any potential close relative and the phylogenetic position of Pantolestinae cannot be estimated without cladistic analysis of a character matrix that includes this new morphology and broadly samples extant and extinct eutherian taxa. Semicircular canal morphology differs from that of two likely terrestrial Paleocene mammals, Aphronorus (another pantolestid) and Eoryctes (a palaeoryctid), suggesting a different, possibly semi-aquatic, lifestyle for Pantolestes.     

新疆吐谷鲁群天山贫齿鳄的再研究

本文对杨钟健1973年记述的—原鳄类成员——天山贫齿鳄 (Edentosuchus tienshanensis) 进行了修订和补充描述,并依据头骨及脊椎的特征将原订的贫齿鳄科 Edentosuchidae 归人中鳄亚目.文中对这一鳄类的年龄及齿列的功能形态进行了初步的探讨.     

蜀龙头骨及脑颅的解剖

本文对蜥脚类蜀龙(Shunosaurus)的脑颅分别从其头骨特征、脑垂体、耳区、视觉系统、脑神经等诸方面进行了较为详细的解剖研究,结果表明 Shunosaurus 内颈动脉不分叉;基蝶骨突强烈收缩;外淋巴囊出现在中耳及 IX、X、XI 孔与颈静脉孔内分外合等现象十分独特.因此,Shunosaurus 应视为一种特化的原始蜥脚类.     

Eotherapsid hypothesis for the origin of Monotremata

Comparative study of the cranial structures (lateral wall of the braincase, temporal and tympanic regions) of mammals and theromorphs shows that Monotremata evolved from the eotherapsid stem of theromorphs, while therian mammals are descendants of eutherapsids.     

完美中国颌兽(Sinognathus gracilis)头骨化石标本的新观察

通过ＣＴ扫描对完美中国颌兽（犬齿兽科,爬行纲）头骨正型标本进行再研究,实现了无损伤观察化石标本内部结构之目的,发现脑颅内腔的上方有特别长大的三棱柱形的构造,暂解释为额－顶窦。对鳞骨后外侧面的外耳道作了详细观察记述。     

Neural crest can form cartilages normally derived from mesoderm during development of the avian head skeleton

The lateral wall of the avian braincase, which is indicative of the primitive amniote condition, is formed from mesoderm. In contrast, mammals have replaced this portion of their head skeleton with a nonhomologous bone of neural crest origin. Features that characterize the local developmental environment may have enabled a neural crest-derived skeletal element to be integrated into a mesodermal region of the braincase during the course of evolution. The lateral wall of the braincase lies along a boundary in the head that separates neural crest from mesoderm, and also, neural crest cells migrate through this region on their way to the first visceral arch. Differences in the availability of one skeletogenic population versus the other may determine the final composition of the lateral wall of the braincase. Using the quail-chick chimeric system, this investigation tests if populations of neural crest, when augmented and expanded within populations of mesoderm, will give rise to the lateral wall of the braincase. Results demonstrate that neural crest can produce cartilages that are morphologically indistinguishable from elements normally generated by mesoderm. These findings (1) indicate that neural crest can respond to the same cues that both promote skeletogenesis and enable proper patterning in mesoderm, (2) challenge hypotheses on the nature of the boundary between neural crest and mesoderm in the head, and (3) suggest that changes in the allocation of migrating cells could have enabled a neural crest-derived skeletal element to replace a mesodermal portion of the braincase during evolution.     

记裂头鳄属(Dibothrosuchus)一新种

本文记述的裂头鳄属-新种 (Dibothrosuchus xingsuensis sp. nov.)的标本采自云南禄丰盆地下禄丰组深红层.通过描述,对裂头鳄属属级特征作了补充.新种的头骨中鳞骨缺失降突;方骨极度向前背方伸展,形成大的耳凹,乌喙骨具后腹突,以及具有鳄类式的腕骨等,表明裂头鳄属应改属为楔形鳄科 (Sphenosuchidae).根据该科各属的头骨中方骨与脑颅侧壁的连接关系,可以清楚地看到楔形鳄科在这局部解剖学上存在一连续的发展过程.在形态上,裂头鳄属和南非的 Sphenosuehus (典型属)最为相近.     

Relationship of squamosal suture to asterion on external skull surfaces versus endocasts of pongids: Implications for Hadar early hominid AL 162-28

The relationship between the squamosal suture and asterion was quantified in 15 hemispheres of eight chimpanzee endocasts that were aligned in the conventional lateral view (i.e., with frontal pole [FP]–occipital pole [OP] horizontal). Using a three-dimensional digitizer, x, y, and z coordinates were collected for the highest and lowest points of the squamosal suture, and the most rostral point of the suture approximate to the coronal suture. Our results were compared to a similar study of the squamosal suture on the external surfaces of chimpanzee skulls that were oriented in the Frankfurt horizontal (Holloway and Shapiro, 1992). The relationship between the squamosal suture and asterion differs markedly between the outsides of skulls and endocasts. Whereas the squamosal suture is very rarely below asterion on the external skull, we found that most of the squamosal suture is located inferior to asterion on endocasts. We also found that the squamosal suture courses approximately 2.0 mm lower on the right side than the left. (An asymmetry of the same magnitude was reported for the external skull but, curiously, in the opposite direction.) It may be that a lowered right squamosal endosuture on chimpanzee endocasts is associated with earlier closure on that side. The discrepancy in results for the external skull versus endocast is partially attributable to orienting chimpanzee skulls in the Frankfurt horizontal, which usually results in the endocasts being tilted so that FP is above OP, i.e., FP-OP is not parallel with the Frankfurt horizontal. Falk's (1985) orientation of the early hominid endocast from Hadar (AL 162-28) is consistent with data determined from endocasts of chimpanzees. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Why the Long Face? Kangaroos and Wallabies Follow the Same ‘Rule’ of Cranial Evolutionary Allometry (CREA) as Placentals

Evolutionary Biology - Among closely related species, larger mammals tend to have a longer face and proportionally smaller braincase. This putative ‘rule’ in mammalian macroevolution...     

The angular process of Monodelphis domestica (Didelphidae, Marsupialia) and its relation to the middle ear: an ontogenetic and evolutionary morphologic study

In most marsupials, the angular process is inflected medially. By using an ontogenetic series of Monodelphis domestica, the development of this characteristic structure has been described. In contrast with the eutherian mammals, in marsupials there is retained a close connection between the dentale and the tympanicum and goniale; it is well known that these 2 elements of the middle ear are derived from the angulare and prearticulare of the reptilian lower jaw. At the neonatal stage, the dentale and tympanicum are both relatively vertically orientated; during the following 2 weeks, they take an increasingly oblique position, which is primarily caused by the rapid growth of the braincase. Only after the eruption of the first teeth, the ascending ramus of the dentale takes a more and more vertical position, whereas the angular process remains with its tip near the medioventral floor of the tympanic bulla. The bulla shows at this place a rectangular fenestra which is covered by a membrane of loose connective tissue; the tip of the angular process, which is always free of muscular insertions, maintains contacts with this fenestra throughout life. During juvenile and adult life stages, the process becomes somewhat removed from the fenestra for obvious reasons, but at a gape of about 40 to 50 degrees it inevitably must touch the "inferior tympanic membrane" and possibly also the tympanic ring. It is speculated that the relationship between the angular process and the tympanic bulla represents a specific form-function complex for sound transmission, which may be a modified retention from archaic mammalian conditions. Further details of the ontogenetic development of the tympanic region have been described which may be of some relevance for the evolutionary morphology of mammals: The tympanic process of the petrosal, which fixes the posterior end of the tympanic ring, is formed by 'Zuwachsknochen' (additional bone) but not by cartilage. The styloid process remains cartilaginous throughout life: its free tip ends in the lateral wall of the tympanic cavity and it is closely connected with the collum mallei and the posterior end of the tympanicum; it guides the chorda tympani and may therefore be homologous with the cartilage of Spence. The cartilage of Paauw is interpreted in terms of functional morphology. A model of evolutionary transformation of the dentale-tympanicum complex in mesozoic mammals in outlined on the basis of the ontogenetic findings in Monodelphis and other didelphid and dasyurid marsupials.     

云南兽(三列齿类爬行动物)的耳区结构

本文介绍了以短吻云南兽为代表的一种耳区结构.它表明在三列齿类爬行动物里已经出现有发育的耳蜗壳以及在其内侧通过的颈内动脉等进步性质,听腔亦趋封闭.云南兽的中耳腔外侧出现了一条曲折的骨质外耳道,侧枕骨突外侧明显的沟可能表明方骨后耳膜之存在.     

Relationship of squamosal suture to asterion in pongids (Pan): relevance to early hominid brain evolution.

Based on 244 measurements of the relationship of the squamosal suture to the landmark asterion in 49 chimpanzee skulls, it is shown that in the normal lateral view the squamosal suture is very rarely inferior to asterion. In hominid crania, the squamosal suture is always well superior to asterion. Even in Pan, that part of the squamosal suture most homologous with the remnant found on the Hadar AL 162-28 Australopithecus afarensis hominid cranial fragment is very rarely inferior to asterion. Such variability suggests that Falk's (Nature 313:45-47, 1985) orientation of the Hadar specimen is incorrect; she places asterion superior to the position of the squamosal suture if projected endocranially. The implication for the brain endocast is that, however the fragment is oriented, the posterior aspect of the intraparietal (IP) sulcus is in a very posterior position relative to any chimpanzee brain. The distance from the posterior aspect of IP to occipital pole is twice as great in chimpanzee brain casts than on the Hadar AL 162-28 endocast, even though the chimpanzee brain casts are smaller in overall size. This suggests that brain reorganization, at least as exemplified as a reduction in primary visual striate cortex (area 17 of Brodmann), occurred early in hominid evolution, prior to any major brain expansion.     

The petrosal and inner ear of the Late Jurassic cladotherian mammal Dryolestes leiriensis and implications for ear evolution in therian mammals

Dryolestes leiriensis is a Late Jurassic fossil mammal of the dryolestoid superfamily in the cladotherian clade that includes the extant marsupials and placentals. We used high resolution micro‐computed tomography (µCT) scanning and digital reconstruction of the virtual endocast of the inner ear to show that its cochlear canal is coiled through 270°, and has a cribriform plate with the spiral cochlear nerve foramina between the internal acoustic meatus and the cochlear bony labyrinth. The cochlear canal has the primary bony lamina for the basilar membrane with a partially formed (or partially preserved) canal for the cochlear spiral ganglion. These structures, in their fully developed condition, form the modiolus (the bony spiral structure) of the fully coiled cochlea in extant marsupial and placental mammals. The CT data show that the secondary bony lamina is present, although less developed than in another dryolestoid Henkelotherium and in the prototribosphenidan Vincelestes. The presence of the primary bony lamina with spiral ganglion canal suggests a dense and finely distributed cochlear nerve innervation of the hair cells for improved resolution of sound frequencies. The primary, and very probably also the secondary, bony laminae are correlated with a more rigid support for the basilar membrane and a narrower width of this membrane, both of which are key soft‐tissue characteristics for more sensitive hearing for higher frequency sound. All these cochlear features originated prior to the full coiling of the therian mammal cochlea beyond one full turn, suggesting that the adaptation to hearing a wider range of sound frequencies, especially higher frequencies with refined resolution, has an ancient evolutionary origin no later than the Late Jurassic in therian evolution. The petrosal of Dryolestes has added several features that are not preserved in the petrosal of Henkelotherium. The petrosal characters of dryolestoid mammals are essentially the same as those of Vincelestes, helping to corroborate the synapomorphies of the cladotherian clade in neural, vascular, and other petrosal characteristics. The petrosal characteristics of Dryolestes and Henkelotherium together represent the ancestral morphotype of the cladotherian clade (Dryolestoidea + Vincelestes + extant Theria) from which the extant therian mammals evolved their ear region characteristics. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 166 , 433–463.     

THE BRAINCASE and JAWS OF CLADODUS FROM THE LOWER CARBONIFEROUS OF SCOTLAND

Abstract:  The jaws and an allegedly associated orbitotemporal region of a shark braincase are described from the Lower Carboniferous (Upper Viséan, Brigantian Stage, Clackmannan Group, Lower Limestone Formation) of Lugton, Ayrshire, Scotland. The braincase specimen is important because it is associated with a tooth of Cladodus elegans Newberry and Worthen, 1870, a form considered to be close to the type species Cladodus mirabilis Agassiz, 1843. An occipital fragment, a basicranium and a fragment of palatoquadrate from the same locality are also described. All the material probably represents the same species, and it is even possible that some of the material came from a single individual. The braincase resembles those of Cladodoide s and Tamiobatis , especially in the proportions of its otic region, the presence of an extensive dorsum sellae, and the arrangement of canals for major nerves and blood vessels. The internal structure of the occipital region is remarkably like that found in Tamiobatis braincases in having a prominent subnotochordal septum and paired subnotochordal and paroccipital chambers. Cladodus is no longer regarded as a nomen dubium , since only a few species founded on isolated teeth are now retained in the re-diagnosed genus, and one of these ( C. elegans ) is now associated with skeletal remains. The best systematic placement for Cladodus sensu stricto is among the Ctenacanthiformes or even the Ctenacanthidae. Cladodus may be a synonym of Ctenacanthus , but this cannot be confirmed with the available material.     

Changes in the composition of the auditory bulla in southern Solomon Islands populations of the grey cuscus, Phalanger orientalis breviceps (Marsupialia, Phalangeridae)

The auditory bulla is a much-scrutinized taxonomic character of mammals, which is generally regarded as showing a high degree of structural consistency within higher taxa. Observations of bulla variability in populations of the marsupial Phalanger orientalis from the Solomon Islands demonstrate considerable flexibility in bulla makeup, with variable incorporation of the squamosal into the tympanic floor. Studies of the ontogeny of the bulla in Phalanger show the presence of three ossification centres, including an entotympanic. Squamosal invasion of one of these ossificiation centres is seen as a possible result of inbreeding, arising from the mode of colonization of the Solomon Islands by this species. This suggests that, under certain conditions, considerable morphological plasticity may be induced within the selective constraints of bulla function.