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https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/26961
Title: | Digging adaptation in insectivorous subterranean eutherians. The enigma of Mesoscalops montanensis unveiled by geometric morphometrics and finite element analysis | Contributor(s): | Piras, Paolo (author); Sansalone, Gabriele (author); Teresi, Luciano (author); Moscato, Marco (author); Profico, Antonio (author); Eng, Ronald (author); Cox, Timothy C (author); Loy, Anna (author); Colangelo, Paolo (author); Kotsakis, Tassos (author) | Publication Date: | 2015-10 | Early Online Version: | 2015-06-30 | DOI: | 10.1002/jmor.20405 | Handle Link: | https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/26961 | Abstract: | The enigmatic Early Miocene fossorial mammal Mesoscalops montanensis shows one of the most modified humeri among terrestrial mammals. It has been suggested, on qualitative considerations, that this species has no extant homologues for humerus kinematics and that, functionally, the closest extant group is represented by Chrysochloridae. We combine here three dimensional geometric morphometrics, finite element analysis and phylogenetic comparative methods to explore the shape and mechanical stress states of Mesoscalops montanensis as well as of extant and extinct Talpidae and Chrysochloridae under realistic digging simulations. Evolutionary convergence analyses reveal that the shape of Mesoscalops montanensis represents a unique morphology in the context of fossorial mammals and that its functional performance, albeit superficially similar to that of extant Chrysochloridae, still represents a nonconvergent optimum for adaptation to digging. | Publication Type: | Journal Article | Source of Publication: | Journal of Morphology, 276(10), p. 1157-1171 | Publisher: | John Wiley & Sons, Inc | Place of Publication: | United States of America | ISSN: | 1097-4687 0362-2525 |
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 |
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Appears in Collections: | Journal Article School of Environmental and Rural Science |
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