The tooth-bearing skeletal elements of the Italian urodeles, a comparative tool for osteological identification
Monti, Sara (Università di Torino. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra)
Macaluso, Loredana (Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg)
Delfino, Massimo (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)

Date:	2024
Abstract:	Urodele osteology is characterised by simplified skulls, loss of several bones and a specific sequence of cranial and limb ossification. The relatively few studies devoted to the comparative analysis of isolated urodele bones are mostly focused on the vertebrae and occipital complexes, and to a lesser extent humeri. The tooth-bearing skeletal elements (premaxillae, maxillae, dentaries, and vomers) are strongly neglected in this respect, despite being robust and as such sometimes found as fossils. Herein, we provide for the first time a comparative study of dentigerous bones, focusing on the Italian urodeles. Thirteen of the 19 species present in Italy, representing all genera except one, were analysed, for a total of 70 dry-prepared skeletons. The morphology of dentigerous skeletal elements of Italian urodeles is described and pictured, providing diagnostic characters and dichotomous keys for the identification at the genus level in most cases, and species level in some. The diagnostic morphological characters were included in a phylogenetic analysis, the results of which demonstrate that the tooth-bearing elements can have a phylogenetic value useful for assessing the relationships of living taxa.
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió acceptada per publicar
Subject:	Osteology ; Urodeles ; Phylogeny ; Dentigerous bones
Published in:	Acta Herpetologica, Vol. 19, Núm. 2 (2024) , p. 97-122, ISSN 1827-9643

DOI: 10.36253/a_h-15648

Postprint 56 p, 2.6 MB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP)
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Articles > Published articles