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98 results for “whale evolution”
Data from: Evolution of cranial telescoping in echolocating whales (Cetacea: Odontoceti)
Odontocete (echolocating whale) skulls exhibit extreme posterior displacement and overlapping of facial bones, here referred to as retrograde cranial telescoping. To examine retrograde cranial telescoping across 40 million years of whale evolution, we collected 3D scans of whale skulls spanning odontocete evolution. We used a sliding semilandmark morphometric approach with Procrustes superimposition and PCA to capture and describe the morphological variation present in the facial region, followed by Ancestral Character State Reconstruction (ACSR) and evolutionary model fitting on significant components to determine how retrograde cranial telescoping evolved. The first PC score explains the majority of variation associated with telescoping and reflects the posterior migration of the external nares and premaxilla alongside expansion of the maxilla and frontal. The earliest diverging fossil odontocetes were found to exhibit a lesser degree of cranial telescoping than later diverging but contemporary whale taxa. Major shifts in PC scores and centroid size are identified at the base of Odontoceti, and early burst and punctuated equilibrium models best fit the evolution of retrograde telescoping. This indicates that the Oligocene was a period of unusually high diversity and evolution in whale skull morphology, with little subsequent evolution in telescoping.
Data from: Evidence for convergent evolution of ultrasonic hearing in toothed whales (Cetacea: Odontoceti)
Toothed whales (Cetacea: Odontoceti) are the most diverse group of modern cetaceans, originating during the Eocene/Oligocene transition ~38 million years ago. All extant odontocetes echolocate; a single origin for this behavior is supported by a unique facial source for ultrasonic vocalizations and a cochlea adapted for hearing the corresponding echoes. The craniofacial and inner ear morphology of Oligocene odontocetes support a rapid (Simocetus and Olympicetus suggest an ability to generate ultrasonic sound, until now, the bony labyrinths of taxa of this grade have not been investigated. Here, we use µCT to examine a petrosal of a taxon with clear similarities to Olympicetus avitus. Measurements of the bony labyrinth, when added to an extensive dataset of cetartiodactyls, resulted in this specimen sharing a morphospace with stem whales, suggesting a transitional inner ear. This discovery implies that either the lineage leading to this Olympicetus–like taxon lost the ability to hear ultrasonic sound, or adaptations for ultrasonic hearing evolved twice, once in xenorophids and again on the stem of the odontocete crown group. We favor the latter interpretation as it matches a well-documented convergence of craniofacial morphology between xenorophids and extant odontocetes.
Data from: Evolution of cranial telescoping in echolocating whales (Cetacea: Odontoceti)
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Data from: Evidence for convergent evolution of ultrasonic hearing in toothed whales (Cetacea: Odontoceti)
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The evolution of hearing and brain size in Eocene whales
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Data from: Ancestor-descendant relationships in evolution: origin of the extant pygmy right whale, Caperea marginata
Ancestor–descendant relationships (ADRs), involving descent with modification, are the fundamental concept in evolution, but are usually difficult to recognize. We examined the cladistic relationship between the only reported fossil pygmy right whale, Miocaperea pulchra, and its sole living relative, the enigmatic pygmy right whale Caperea marginata, the latter represented by both adult and juvenile specimens. Miocaperea is phylogenetically bracketed between juvenile and adult Caperea marginata in morphologically based analyses, thus suggesting a possible ADR—the first so far identified within baleen whales (Cetacea: Mysticeti). The Miocaperea–Caperea lineage may show long-term morphological stasis and, in turn, punctuated equilibrium.
Data from: Independent evolution of baleen whale gigantism linked to Plio-Pleistocene ocean dynamics
Vertebrates have evolved to gigantic sizes repeatedly over the past 250 Myr, reaching their extreme in today's baleen whales (Mysticeti). Hypotheses for the evolution of exceptionally large size in mysticetes range from niche partitioning to predator avoidance, but there has been no quantitative examination of body size evolutionary dynamics in this clade and it remains unclear when, why or how gigantism evolved. By fitting phylogenetic macroevolutionary models to a dataset consisting of living and extinct species, we show that mysticetes underwent a clade-wide shift in their mode of body size evolution during the Plio-Pleistocene. This transition, from Brownian motion-like dynamics to a trended random walk towards larger size, is temporally linked to the onset of seasonally intensified upwelling along coastal ecosystems. High prey densities resulting from wind-driven upwelling, rather than abundant resources alone, are the primary determinant of efficient foraging in extant mysticetes and Late Pliocene changes in ocean dynamics may have provided an ecological pathway to gigantism in multiple independent lineages.
Figure 16 in Description of a new long-snouted beaked whale from the Late Miocene of Denmark: evolution of suction feeding and sexual dimorphism in the Ziphiidae (Cetacea: Odontoceti)
Figure 16. Ribs of MSM1001x (holotype), Dagonodum mojnum gen. nov., sp. nov. in anterior view: A, left rib 1; B, right rib 1; C, right rib 2; D, left rib 2; E, rib 3. Scale bar = 80 mm.
Figure 13 in Description of a new long-snouted beaked whale from the Late Miocene of Denmark: evolution of suction feeding and sexual dimorphism in the Ziphiidae (Cetacea: Odontoceti)
Figure 13. Basyhyal and thyrohyal of MSM1001x (holotype), Dagonodum mojnum gen. nov., sp. nov.: A, dorsal view; B, posterior view; C, basihyal in lateral view; D, thyrohyal in lateral view. Scale bar = 30 mm.
Figure 20 in Description of a new long-snouted beaked whale from the Late Miocene of Denmark: evolution of suction feeding and sexual dimorphism in the Ziphiidae (Cetacea: Odontoceti)
Figure 20. Comparison of the basihyal and thyrohyal in MSM1001x, Dagonodum mojnum gen. nov., sp. nov., in A, dorsal and B, posterior view; Mesoplodon bidens in C, dorsal and D, posterior view; USNM 593573, Phocoena phocoena in E, dorsal and F, posterior view; SNM CN1x, Grampus griseus in G, dorsal and H, posterior view. Bas., basihyal; Thy., thyrohyal. Scale bar = 30 mm.
Figure 12 in Description of a new long-snouted beaked whale from the Late Miocene of Denmark: evolution of suction feeding and sexual dimorphism in the Ziphiidae (Cetacea: Odontoceti)
Figure 12. Detail of the teeth categories of MSM1001x (holotype), Dagonodum mojnum gen. nov., sp. nov. Apical tusk in A, medial; B, lateral; C, dorsal view; subapical tusk in D, medial; E, lateral view; subapical teeth in F, H, J, medial and G, I, K, lateral view; sample of symphyseal/postsymphyseal teeth in L, N, P, medial and M, N, Q, lateral view; proximal teeth in R, T, medial and S, U, lateral view; V, W, X, corresponding drawings of respectively A, L, Q, T. Dotted lines correspond to tooth wear and occlusion wear facets. Scale bar = 10 mm.
Figure 9 in Description of a new long-snouted beaked whale from the Late Miocene of Denmark: evolution of suction feeding and sexual dimorphism in the Ziphiidae (Cetacea: Odontoceti)
Figure 9. Left tympanic of MSM1001x (holotype), Dagonodum mojnum gen. nov., sp. nov.: A, dorsal view; B, medial view; C, ventral view; D, lateral view; E–H, corresponding drawings. Scale bar = 20 mm.
Figure 6 in Description of a new long-snouted beaked whale from the Late Miocene of Denmark: evolution of suction feeding and sexual dimorphism in the Ziphiidae (Cetacea: Odontoceti)
Figure 6. Detail of the prenarial basin of MSM1001x (holotype), Dagonodum mojnum gen. nov., sp. nov., dorsal view. Compression-related fracturing caused part of the structure to be displaced backwards, thus leading to the artificial closure of the antorbital notch. White dotted lines delimit the suture lines. Scale bar = 50 mm.
Figure 4 in Description of a new long-snouted beaked whale from the Late Miocene of Denmark: evolution of suction feeding and sexual dimorphism in the Ziphiidae (Cetacea: Odontoceti)
Figure 4. Skull of MSM1001x (holotype), Dagonodum mojnum gen. nov., sp. nov., ventral view: A, cranium; B, rostrum; C and D with the corresponding labels. White dotted lines delimit the suture lines. Scale bar = 100 mm.
Figure 3 in Description of a new long-snouted beaked whale from the Late Miocene of Denmark: evolution of suction feeding and sexual dimorphism in the Ziphiidae (Cetacea: Odontoceti)
Figure 3. Skull of MSM1001x (holotype), Dagonodum mojnum gen. nov., sp. nov., dorsal view: A, cranium; B, rostrum; C and D with the corresponding labels. The vertex collapsed anterolaterally toward the left. White dotted lines delimit the suture lines. Scale bar = 100 mm.
Figure 5 in Description of a new long-snouted beaked whale from the Late Miocene of Denmark: evolution of suction feeding and sexual dimorphism in the Ziphiidae (Cetacea: Odontoceti)
Figure 5. Skull of MSM1001x (holotype), Dagonodum mojnum gen. nov., sp. nov., left lateral view: A, cranium; B, rostrum. Notice the dorsal part of the vertex facing laterally due to the deformation. Black dotted line delimits the prenarial basin on the cranium and the white dotted line delimits the premaxilla/maxilla suture along the rostrum. Scale bar = 100 mm.
Figure 18 in Description of a new long-snouted beaked whale from the Late Miocene of Denmark: evolution of suction feeding and sexual dimorphism in the Ziphiidae (Cetacea: Odontoceti)
Figure 18. Illustration of the difference of development of the prominence posterior to the nasals on the vertex in dorsal view in: A and B, Mesoplodon perrini (USNM 504260); C and D, Mesoplodon layardii (USNM 550150); E and F, Mesoplodon grayi (SNM CN1); and G and H, Berardius bairdii (USNM 550886). The prominence is outlined in B, D and F. Scale bar = 10 mm.
Figure 15 in Description of a new long-snouted beaked whale from the Late Miocene of Denmark: evolution of suction feeding and sexual dimorphism in the Ziphiidae (Cetacea: Odontoceti)
Figure 15. Thoracic vertebrae of MSM1001x (holotype), Dagonodum mojnum gen. nov., sp. nov. T1–T3 (vertebra A): A, anterior view; B, posterior view; C, right lateral view. Post-T4 (vertebra B): A, anterior view; B, posterior view; C, right lateral view. Scale bar = 50 mm.
Figure 8 in Description of a new long-snouted beaked whale from the Late Miocene of Denmark: evolution of suction feeding and sexual dimorphism in the Ziphiidae (Cetacea: Odontoceti)
Figure 8. Left periotic of MSM1001x (holotype), Dagonodum mojnum gen. nov., sp. nov.: A, dorsal view; B, lateral view; C, dorsomedial view; D, ventral view; E–H, corresponding drawings. Scale bar = 20 mm.
Figure 10 in Description of a new long-snouted beaked whale from the Late Miocene of Denmark: evolution of suction feeding and sexual dimorphism in the Ziphiidae (Cetacea: Odontoceti)
Figure 10. Lower jaw of MSM1001x (holotype), Dagonodum mojnum gen. nov., sp. nov.: A, dorsal view; B, left lateral view. Scale bar = 100 mm.
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.