Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/26959
Title: Evolution of hypsodonty reveals a long-standing ecological separation in the Japanese shrew-moles
Contributor(s): Sansalone, G  (author)
Publication Date: 2015-10
Early Online Version: 2015-06-04
DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12261
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/26959
Abstract: Habitat segregation has been reported for the Japanese shrew-moles by several studies. However, there is a lack of surveys aimed at characterizing the ecological separation occurring between Urotrichus talpoides and Dymecodon pilirostris. In this paper, possible reasons for this ecological separation are proposed for the first time. A geometric morphometrics analysis was performed on first lower molars and mandibles of both fossil and extant specimens. The results evidenced that U. talpoides evolved a hypsodont configuration and a more robust mandible bearing an enlarged second incisor, while D. pilirostris maintained the primitive brachyodont morphology and a slender mandible. The fossil specimens proved to be very similar to their extant relatives. The shape analyses of m1 and the mandible suggest that U. talpoides possesses a more efficient feeding behaviour compared with that of D. pilirostris. Moreover, the derived state of the mandible morphology, associated with a larger size, suggests that U. talpoides largely displaced D. pilirostris and confined it to isolated highland areas by means of competition for food resources.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Source of Publication: Journal of Zoology, 297(2), p. 146-155
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Place of Publication: United Kingdom
ISSN: 1469-7998
0952-8369
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 060809 Vertebrate Biology
060303 Biological Adaptation
040308 Palaeontology (incl. Palynology)
Fields of Research (FoR) 2020: 310914 Vertebrate biology
310403 Biological adaptation
370506 Palaeontology (incl. palynology)
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020: 280102 Expanding knowledge in the biological sciences
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal
Appears in Collections:Journal Article
School of Environmental and Rural Science

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