Virtual brain endocast of Antifer (Mammalia: Cervidae), an extinct large cervid from South America |
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Authors: | Emmanuelle Fontoura José Darival Ferreira Jamile Bubadué Ana Maria Ribeiro Leonardo Kerber |
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Affiliation: | 1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade Animal, Centro de Ciências Naturais e Exatas, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Brazil;2. Seção de Paleontologia, Museu de Ciências Naturais, Secretaria do Meio Ambiente e Infraestrutura, Porto Alegre, Brazil |
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Abstract: | A diverse fossil record of Cervidae (Mammalia) has been documented in the South American Pleistocene, when these animals arrived during the Great American Biotic Interchange. Using computed tomography-scanning techniques, it is possible to access the endocranial morphology of extinct species. Here, we studied the brain endocast of the extinct late Pleistocene cervid Antifer ensenadensis from southern Brazil, one of the largest forms that lived on this continent, using comparative morphology, geometric morphometrics, and encephalization quotients. The analyzed endocasts demonstrate that A. ensenadensis had a gyrencephalic brain, showing a prominent longitudinal sinus (=sagittal superior sinus), which is also observed in the large South American cervid Blastocerus dichotomus. The encephalization quotient is within the variation of extant cervids, suggesting maintenance of the pattern of encephalization from at least the late Pleistocene. Geometric morphometric analysis suggested a clear and linear allometric trend between brain endocast size and shape, and highlights A. ensenadensis as an extreme form within the analyzed cervids regarding brain morphology. |
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Keywords: | allometry endocast endocranium late Pleistocene Odocoileini |
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