The Late Cretaceous eutherian<i> Zalambdalestes</i> reveals unique axis and complex evolution of the mammalian neck

doi:10.1016/j.scib.2024.04.027

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	The Late Cretaceous eutherian Zalambdalestes reveals unique axis and complex evolution of the mammalian neck
	Arnold, Patrick 1; Janiszewska, Katarzyna 2; Li, Qian3 ; O'Connor, Jingmai K.4; Fostowicz-Frelik, Lucja 5,6
	2024-06-15
发表期刊	SCIENCE BULLETIN
ISSN	2095-9273
卷号	69 期号:11 页码:1767-1775
通讯作者	Fostowicz-Frelik, Lucja([email protected])
摘要	The typical mammalian neck consisting of seven cervical vertebrae (C1-C7) was established by the Late Permian in the cynodont forerunners of modern mammals. This structure is precisely adapted to facilitate movements of the head during feeding, locomotion, predator evasion, and social interactions. Eutheria, the clade including crown placentals, has a fossil record extending back more than 125 million years revealing significant morphological diversification in the Mesozoic. Yet very little is known concerning the early evolution of eutherian cervical morphology and its functional adaptations. A specimen of Zalambdalestes lechei from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia boasts exceptional preservation of an almost complete series of cervical vertebrae (C2-C7) revealing a highly modified axis (C2). The significance of this cervical morphology is explored utilizing an integrated approach combining comparative anatomical examination across mammals, muscle reconstruction, geometric morphometrics and virtual range of motion analysis. We compared the shape of the axis in Zalambdalestes to a dataset of 88 mammalian species (monotremes, marsupials, and placentals) using three-dimensional landmark analysis. The results indicate that the unique axis morphology of Zalambdalestes has no close analog among living mammals. Virtual range of motion analysis of the neck strongly implies Zalambdalestes was capable of exerting very forceful head movements and had a high degree of ventral flexion for an animal its size. These findings reveal unexpected complexity in the early evolution of the eutherian cervical morphology and suggest a feeding behavior similar to insectivores specialized in vermivory and defensive behaviors in Zalambdalestes akin to modern spiniferous mammals. (c) 2024 Science China Press. Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science China Press. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
关键词	Atlas Axis Vertebral column Stem placental Morphology paleoecology
DOI	10.1016/j.scib.2024.04.027
关键词[WOS]	MARSUPIALS ; MONGOLIA ; ANATOMY ; ORIGIN
收录类别	SCI
语种	英语
资助项目	National Science Centre (NCN, Krakow, Poland)[2015/18/E/NZ8/00637] ; Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA, Warszawa, Poland)[BPN/BEK/2021/1/00357/U/00001]
项目资助者	National Science Centre (NCN, Krakow, Poland) ; Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA, Warszawa, Poland)
WOS研究方向	Science & Technology - Other Topics
WOS类目	Multidisciplinary Sciences
WOS记录号	WOS:001258953300001
出版者	ELSEVIER
引用统计
文献类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://119.78.100.205/handle/311034/23804
专题	中国科学院古脊椎动物与古人类研究所
通讯作者	Fostowicz-Frelik, Lucja
作者单位	1.Univ Potsdam, Inst Biochem & Biol, D-14476 Potsdam, Germany 2.Polish Acad Sci, Inst Paleobiol, Environm Paleobiol Dept, PL-00818 Warsaw, Poland 3.Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Vertebrate Paleontol & Paleoanthropol, Key Lab Evolutionary Systemat Vertebrates, Beijing 100044, Peoples R China 4.Field Museum Nat Hist, Chicago, IL 60605 USA 5.Univ Chicago, Dept Organismal Biol & Anat, Chicago, IL 60637 USA 6.Polish Acad Sci, Inst Paleobiol, Evolutionary Paleobiol Dept, Warsaw, Poland
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Arnold, Patrick,Janiszewska, Katarzyna,Li, Qian,et al. The Late Cretaceous eutherian Zalambdalestes reveals unique axis and complex evolution of the mammalian neck[J]. SCIENCE BULLETIN,2024,69(11):1767-1775.
APA	Arnold, Patrick,Janiszewska, Katarzyna,Li, Qian,O'Connor, Jingmai K.,&Fostowicz-Frelik, Lucja.(2024).The Late Cretaceous eutherian Zalambdalestes reveals unique axis and complex evolution of the mammalian neck.SCIENCE BULLETIN,69(11),1767-1775.
MLA	Arnold, Patrick,et al."The Late Cretaceous eutherian Zalambdalestes reveals unique axis and complex evolution of the mammalian neck".SCIENCE BULLETIN 69.11(2024):1767-1775.