Tooth and long bone scaling in Sardinian ochotonids (Early Pleistocene-Holocene): Evidence for megalodontia and its palaeoecological implications
Moncunill Solé, Blanca (Università degli Studi Roma Tre. Dipartimento di Scienze)
Tuveri, Caterinella (Soprintendenza Archeologia, belle arti e paesaggio per le province di Sassari e Nuoro)
Arca, Marisa (Soprintendenza Archeologia, belle arti e paesaggio per le province di Sassari e Nuoro)
Angelone, Chiara (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)

Date:	2021
Abstract:	Body size is a useful character to unravel the biology of fossil taxa and, indirectly, the palaeoenvironment in which they lived. However, the reliability of size proxies is debated, particularly among insular endemics in which large teeth relative to body size have been observed. To shed light on this issue, here we compute statistical models to assess: (i) teeth and long bone scaling and (ii) dentition size evolutionary dynamics in the anagenetic lineage Prolagus figaro-P. sardus from the late Early Pleistocene-Holocene of Sardinia, Italy. Postcranial bones, particularly tibial epiphyses, are shown to be the most suitable parameters for prediction of body mass in Prolagus and other lagomorph taxa. By contrast, p3 should not be used for size reconstructions, whereas m1 width provided the highest correlation with long bones. On the other hand, the postcanine occlusal surface of Sardinian Prolagus (m1 and toothrow area) appeared significantly larger than those of extant lagomorphs, pointing to a higher resistance to tooth wear and a more durable permanent dentition. It seems likely that megalodontia might have evolved in Sardinian Prolagus to cope with the abrasive diet found on islands (food habit hypothesis). Nonetheless, we cannot exclude that other biological features, such as long longevity, could be co-driving forces in this fossil lineage (life history hypothesis). The results achieved throw light on size and scale evolution in lagomorphs, as well as refine the eco-evolutionary responses of small mammals to insular regimes.
Grants:	Agencia Estatal de Investigación CGL2016-76431-P
Note:	Altres ajuts: CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Body size ; Dental abrasion ; Eco-evolutionary adaptations ; Life-history theory ; Postcanine occlusal surface ; Prolagus
Published in:	Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, Vol. 582 (November 2021) , art. 110645, ISSN 1872-616X

DOI: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2021.110645

12 p, 2.9 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP)
Articles > Published articles