Age-dependent properties and quasi-static strain in the rat sagittal suture

We measured the morphology of and performed tensile tests on sagittal sutures from rats of postnatal age 2 to 60 days. Using the properties measured ex vivo and a pressure vessel-based analysis, we estimated the quasi-static strain that had existed in the suture in vivo from 2 to 60 days. Sutural thickness, width, and stiffness per length were notable properties found to be age dependent. Sutural thickness increased 4.5-fold (0.11-0.50mm) between 2 and 60 days. Sutural width increased transiently between 2 and 20 days, peaking around 8 days; at 8 days, mean sutural width was 75% larger than mean sutural width at two days (0.35+/-0.07 (SD) vs. 0.20+/-0.06 mm). Sutural stiffness per length increased 4.4-fold (8.77-38.3N/mm/mm) between 2 and 60 days. The quasi-static sutural strain estimated to exist in vivo averaged 270+/-190 muepsilon between 2 and 60 days and was not age dependent. These findings provide data on the age-dependent sutural properties of infant to mature rats and provide the first estimate of quasi-static sutural strain in vivo in the rat. The findings show that during development the rat sagittal suture, as a structure, changes significantly and is exposed to quasi-static tensile strain in vivo due to intracranial pressure.     

Power scaling of ammonitic suture patterns from Cretaceous Ancyloceratina: constraints on septal/sutural complexity

The spatial scaling of 77 hemisutures from 65 species of Cretaceous heteromorphic ammonites was quantified with the fractal box‐counting method. Fractal dimensions within Baculites compressus did not significantly differ between adult hemisutures; however, the juvenile suture of this species did exhibit a significantly lower fractal dimension. This suggests that variation in sutural complexity between explicitly adult ontogenetic stages may not contribute to significant noise in comparisons between other species/morphotypes. High‐spired, three‐dimensionally coiled heteromorphs with a larger degree of septal asymmetry exhibit higher fractal dimensions in outer whorl hemisutures than inner whorl hemisutures due to their elongation and improved space occupation over a larger whorl surface. Three‐dimensionally coiled ammonites also have higher fractal dimensions on average (mean D_b = 1.45) with respect to their 2‐D coiled counterparts (mean D_b = 1.38). All ammonites in this study exhibit a positive trend between sutural complexity and shell size (proxied by whorl height). These relationships suggest that septal frilling is constrained by shell morphology and whorl section geometry during septal morphogenesis. This, in turn, influences the scaling, space‐filling properties and scaling limits of ammonitic suture patterns. Sutural/septal complexity is also found to positively influence the amount of liquid retained in marginal septal recesses. However, as these septa approach larger scales, less cameral liquid is retained per septal mass. This may further explain the positive relationship between sutural complexity and shell size.     

A study of sutural bones in different morphological forms of skulls

117 adult human skulls were classified for three morphological forms, i.e. dolichocephalic, mesocephalic and brachycephalic, and were examined for the presence of sutural bones in each form. Sutural bones occur in each forms of the skulls with no statistically significant differences. This finding is interpreted as indicating that sutural bones are not formed secondary to stress, otherwise the incidence of the sutural bones would have been differed in different morphological forms of skulls.     

Sutural bone frequency in synostotic rabbit crania

This study tests the hypothesis that crania with synostosed sutures will have a significantly higher incidence of calvarial sutural bones than normal crania. Sutural bones were counted in seven calvarial sutures and compared among four groups of adult New Zealand white rabbit skulls: normal in-colony (NI) controls (N = 14), normal out-colony (NO) controls (N = 12), skulls with familial delayed onset (DO) coronal synostosis (N = 25), and skulls with experimentally immobilized coronal sutures (EI) (N = 20). Comparisons among groups were made with a Kruskal-Wallis one-way ANOVA and between groups with a Mann-Whitney U-test, using a Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. Significant differences (P > 0.05) were noted only in the coronal and sagittal sutures, with EI crania having the greatest number of coronal sutural bones; between group differences were undetectable for sagittal sutural bones. A post hoc two-sample binomial test for equal proportions showed that the distribution of coronal sutural bones among individuals across groups was even, while the distribution of sagittal sutural bones was significantly higher in EI crania. These results suggest that altered sutural forces of the calvaria contribute to an increased occurrence of sutural bones. However, the influence of inheritance on increased occurrence of sutural bones cannot be discounted, as reflected in the equivalent number of individuals across groups that possessed coronal sutural bones. Am J Phys Anthropol 102:555–563, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Buckman's Paradox: variability and constraints on ammonoid ornament and shell shape

Buckman's Law of Covariation states that ammonoid shell shape and ornamentation are typically correlated, such that compressed, involute forms have light ornament while more inflated, evolute forms have heavier ornament. Such covariation has been observed in many ammonoid groups, and implies a link between the morphogenesis of shell shape and ornamentation. However, other evidence suggests that while ornament growth is controlled by the genetic‐developmental program of the ammonoid, shell shape is strongly influenced by environmental factors. These differing viewpoints lead to Buckman's Paradox – are ornamentation and shell shape tightly linked, as implied by Buckman's covariation, or is the morphogenesis of ornament controlled genetically, while shell shape is controlled environmentally? To address this issue, the variability of shell shape and rib morphology has been compared for a group of endemic acanthoceratid ammonites from the Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway of North America. If Buckman's Law holds due to a morphogenetic connection between shell shape and ornamentation, we would expect taxa with more variable shell shapes to also show more variable rib features and growth. Morphometric analysis of seven shell shape and two rib characters for the Western Interior acanthoceratids finds no such correlation, suggesting that shell shape and rib growth are controlled by different processes. Indeed, rib growth appears to be more constrained than shell shape, consistent with the view that ornamentation is more tightly controlled by the developmental‐genetic growth program of the ammonoid. These results emphasize the complexity of ammonoid morphogenesis and highlight our limited understanding of the causes underlying Buckman's Law.     

Morphostructural constraints and phylogenetic overprint on sutural frilling in Late Jurassic ammonites

The functional significance of frilled septa and complex sutures in ammonoids has generated ongoing debate. The 'classic' hypothesis envisages ammonoid shells and septa as designed for resisting ambient hydrostatic pressure, complex sutures being the evidence of strength in shells for colonization of deep habitats. Here we address the 'suture problem', focusing on the analysis and interpretation of variables in our database of Late Jurassic ammonites not included in previous studies, such as whorl height ( W h ), whorl shape ( S ), shell coiling ( WD ), taxonomic grouping and basic planispiral shell shape. The results indicate that sutural complexity, as measured by the fractal dimension ( D f ) value of the suture line, is positively correlated with W h , and that the sutures of oceanic shells tend to provide, for a given W h value, lower D f estimates than do those of neritic shells. No general trend of increase in sutural complexity was noted for specimens recovered from swell areas belonging to oceanic fringes with respect to those that inhabited epicontinental shelves. In fact, Perisphinctoidea, the clade best represented in the database analysed, shows a higher D f mean value in neritic species than in epioceanic ones. Significant differences in sutural complexity were detected for groups of ammonites classified according to shell shapes ( WD , S ). Oxycones and discocones, streamlined potential swimmers, show the highest D f mean values, while spherocones and cadicones, which were presumably vertical vagrants, present the lowest ones. This indicates that sutural complexity was more related to shell geometry than to bathymetry.     

A New Approach for the Determination of Ammonite and Nautilid Habitats

Externally shelled cephalopods were important elements in open marine habitats throughout Earth history. Paleotemperatures calculated on the basis of the oxygen isotope composition of their shells can provide insights into ancient marine systems as well as the ecology of this important group of organisms. In some sedimentary deposits, however, the aragonitic shell of the ammonite or nautilid is poorly or not preserved at all, while the calcitic structures belonging to the jaws are present. This study tests for the first time if the calcitic jaw structures in fossil cephalopods can be used as a proxy for paleotemperature. We first analyzed the calcitic structures on the jaws of Recent Nautilus and compared the calculated temperatures of precipitation with those from the aragonitic shell in the same individuals. Our results indicate that the jaws of Recent Nautilus are secreted in isotopic equilibrium, and the calculated temperatures approximately match those of the shell. We then extended our study to ammonites from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) Pierre Shale of the U.S. Western Interior and the age-equivalent Mooreville Chalk of the Gulf Coastal Plain. In the Pierre Shale, jaws occur in situ inside the body chambers of well-preserved Baculites while in the Mooreville Chalk, the jaw elements appear as isolated occurrences in the sediment and the aragonitic shell material is not preserved. For the Pierre Shale specimens, the calculated temperatures of well-preserved jaw material match those of well-preserved shell material in the same individual. Analyses of the jaw elements in the Mooreville Chalk permit a comparison of the paleotemperatures between the two sites, and show that the Western Interior is warmer than the Gulf Coast at that time. In summary, our data indicate that the calcitic jaw elements of cephalopods can provide a reliable geochemical archive of the habitat of fossil forms.     

Ammonite morphotypes as indicators of oxygenation in a Cretaceous epicontinental sea

An examination of ammonite morphotypes through stratigraphic sections of the Greenhorn Cyclothem of the Cretaceous Western Interior suggests that they may be useful indicators of oxygenation within ancient epicontinental seas. Because some morphotypes appear to reflect a nektobenthic and others a pelagic habitat, the presence of specific morphotypes may be used to indicate benthic and water-column oxygenation, respectively. At the same time, their absence may provide a valuable indicator of dysaerobic to anaerobic conditions that may have promoted the development of petroleum source rocks. □ Ammonites, anoxia, Cretaceous, Greenhorn Cyclothem, western Interior.     

Durophagous predation on scaphitid ammonoids in the Late Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway of North America

This study is the first to report a trend of predation intensity on scaphitid ammonoids from the Turonian to the Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous) on the basis of analysis of ventral shell breakage in large samples from the US Western Interior Province. Analysis of 835 adult specimens revealed ventral shell breakage in 50 specimens. In most of the damaged specimens, the breakage occurred in a preferred position at the rear part of the body chamber. Ventral breakage is rare in the Turonian specimens, whereas it is common in the Campanian and Maastrichtian specimens. The shell diameter of adult scaphitid ammonoids tends to increase with time. The position of the breakage and the absence of repairs indicate that the ventral breakage resulted from lethal predation. Based on the incidence of breakage and the size and shape of the breaks, possible predators include fish, reptiles and cephalopods such as Placenticeras, Eutrephoceras and coleoids. Our statistical analysis of ventral shell breakage indicates that the incidence of lethal predation increased in conjunction with an increase in adult shell size, suggesting that the body size of the prey was an important factor in predator–prey interactions. In addition, the predatory damage is more extensive in larger adults.     

Sutural complexity and bathymetry in ammonites: fact or artifact?

The widespread assumption that sutural complexity in ammonites is mainly proportional to water depth is revisited. Fractal analysis has been used for the precise morphometric evaluation of sutural complexity in 131 Upper Jurassic ammonites. Suture lines belonging to twelve families have been analyzed, account being taken of shell structure (coiling, shape of whorl section), sculpture and paleoenvironments. Fractal dimensions obtained in epicontinental and epioceanic ammonites show the unlikelihood of precise relationships between suture complexity and depth, and/or the absence of major differences in habitat depth if bathymetry played any significant role in the configuration of intricate septa. Suture complexity appears to be better related to shell structural types. □ Fractal analysis, ammonite sutures, Upper Jurassic.     

Evolutionary stasis,ecophenotypy and environmental controls on ammonite morphology in the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Western Interior Seaway,USA

We test for the presence of evolutionary stasis in a species of Late Cretaceous ammonoid cephalopod, Hoploscaphites nicolletii, from the North American Western Interior Seaway. A comprehensive dataset of morphological traits was compiled across the entire spatial and temporal range of this species. These were analysed in conjunction with sedimentologically and geochemically derived palaeoenvironmental conditions hypothesized to apply selective pressures. All changes in shell shape were observed to be ephemeral and reversable, that is, no unidirectional trend could be observed in any of the morphological traits analysed. Correlations between palaeoenvironmental conditions and morphological traits suggests ecophenotypic processes were at play; however, either environmental changes were too minor and/or provided no isolating mechanism to drive speciation. These data support mechanisms of stasis such as homogenizing gene flow or stabilizing selection under a fluctuating optimum (probably reflecting spatiotemporally heterogeneous palaeoenvironmental conditions). Finally, changes in shell size were not significantly associated with changes in shell-specific δ¹⁸O, despite a correlation between shell size and δ¹⁸O averaged across horizons. This suggests a mismatch in scales of geochemical sampling that supports caution when making broad interpretations based on averaged geochemical data.     

红眼寄居蟹在实验室和野外条件下对贝壳的利用

占据适宜的贝壳对于寄居蟹的发育、繁殖和存活至关重要。尽管很多研究探讨了蟹类对贝壳的选择,但寄居蟹选择多大的贝壳仍不清楚。在实验条件下,本文作者用巴西Anchieta岛上野生红眼寄居蟹( Pagurusbrevidactylus)最常利用的黑衣蟹守螺( Cerithium atratum)和节桑椹螺( Morula nodulosa)进行了贝壳选择实验,通过回归分析确定目标贝类及其大小。观察到寄居蟹对一种独特贝类的选择具有性别意义,从而验证了野外观察结果。雄性明显地倾向选择黑衣蟹守螺的贝壳,而产卵和非产卵的雌性个体对腹足类贝壳的选择差异不显著。尽管两性之间对适宜贝壳的选择存在差异,贝壳适宜度指数(SAI)表明,种群占据那些足够大的贝壳(SAI =1·20±0·23)。红眼寄居蟹对贝壳利用的这种模式可能是为了避免与体型相似同域物种的竞争,从而在后来的生长中减少频繁地更换贝壳。根据目前的数据可以得到以下结论:红眼寄居蟹对贝壳的选择不仅取决于贝壳的参数,而且还与寄居蟹的个体和性选择有关[动物学报51 (5) : 813 -820 , 2005]。     

Patterns of Early Cretaceous molluscan diversity gradients in south-central United States

During the maximum trangression of the Early Cretaceous sea into the Western Interior of the central United States, species diversity decreased from south to north. Maximum bivalve, gastropod. and cephalopod diversities occurred where lagoonal. basinal, and near-shore deposits intertongue. Mollusk diversities are low in the southern reefal deposits. Infaunal suspension-feeding and detritus-feeding gastropods and bivalves are most diverse in the northern nearshore areas, while epifaunal bivalves and carnivorous gastropods characterize the southern reefal areas. Noded-ribbed ammonoids are most diverse in the transitional area between the reefs, while nearshore substrates and smooth-flanked forms characterize the nearshore area. In the reefal area. the variety of ammonoid types is much reduced. This Early Cretaceous (Washitian Stage, mainly upper Albian) gradient is the result of a northward reduction in both habitat variability and predictability of limiting factors such as salinity and resources. This diversity gradient indicates that marine benthic communities in the Gulf Coast were structurally complex, whcreas those of the Western Interior were relatively simple.     

从异地迁入的动物类群是北美西部内陆地区古新世最早期哺乳动物群的重要组成部分吗?(英文)

K/T界线绝灭事件后残存类群的迁入和地方性辐射在北美西部内陆地区的古新世最早期(Puercan期)哺乳动物群的进化中所起的作用存在争议。持续的野外工作和室内研究极大地扩展和提升了我们对北美地区的白垩纪最晚期(北美陆相哺乳动物分期的Lancian期)和Puercan1期(Pu1)的地方动物群组成的认识,也揭示了这些地方动物群生物年代学对比的局限。总的来说,北美西部内陆地区北部的Pu1地方动物群主要由多瘤齿兽类和真兽类组成,而Lancian期存在的有袋类各类群绝灭。大多数的Pu1哺乳动物是由其他地区迁移而来,其中许多类群在K/T界线后不久就迁徙到这个地区。北美洲古纬度高的地区和亚洲太平洋沿岸地区的白垩纪最晚期或者古新世最早期哺乳动物群的缺乏,妨碍了对异地迁移到北美的哺乳动物起源于亚洲这一假说的验证。另一个假说认为,大多数迁入北美西部内陆地区北部的Pu1哺乳动物可能来自北美大陆的其他地区。这一假说得到了越来越多的支持,并且没有证据表明是错误的。     

Mode of life and habitat of scaphitid ammonites

Scaphitid ammonites (scaphites) are among the most common ammonites in the Upper Cretaceous of the U.S. Western Interior. We have examined species of Hoploscaphites from the Campanian and Maastrichtian Pierre Shale and Bearpaw Shale for clues about their mode of life and habitat. Like most other ammonites, scaphites exhibit determinate growth. The “morphogenetic countdown” begins at the point at which the shell departs from the spiral coil and develops into a shaft and recurved hook. This is accompanied by a reduction in the spacing of ribs and tubercles on the hook and the formation of a constriction and varix at the aperture. Internally, this coincides with a decrease in septal spacing. The common association of scaphites and benthic fossils (e.g., Inoceramus) is interpreted as reflecting oxygen-rich episodes in the history of the Western Interior Seaway. Habitat depths are estimated at less than 100 m, based on faunal associations and studies of the mechanical strength of the septa and siphuncle. Analyses of the isotopic composition of the shells suggest that the animals lived near the sea floor. The high angle of orientation of the aperture at maturity (approximately 100°) seems incompatible with a nektobenthic mode of life. The constricted aperture ending in a thin lip may also have restricted unimpeded movement of long, muscular arms protruding from the aperture. Adults were probably poor swimmers, based on a comparison of their musculature (as inferred from their muscle scars) with that of nautilus (assuming that such a comparison is valid). The lack of a hyponomic sinus on the midventer would have prevented the animal from extending its hyponome below the shell in order to swim forward. As a consequence, scaphites may have been limited in their movement to swimming backward or downward, and may have exploited a low-energy lifestyle, remaining at a single site for an extended period of time. They may have consumed small prey in the water column, which is consistent with the presence of an aptychus-type lower jaw.     

Normal range and variation in the ontogeny of the Late Paleozoic ammonoid family Marathonitidae

The ontogeny and phylogeny of members of the Late Paleozoic family Marathonitidae are ana-lyzed. The ontogeny of some taxa shows variation in major morphological characters, including the shell shape and sutural outline. The range of variation of the characters examined is defined, and deviations from the normal range are considered to be instrumental in the derivation of new groups of various taxonomic ranks.