Testing Equid Body Mass Estimate Equations on Modern Zebras—With Implications to Understanding the Relationship of Body Size, Diet, and Habitats of Equus in the Pleistocene of Europe
Testing Equid Body Mass Estimate Equations on Modern Zebras—With Implications to Understanding the Relationship of Body Size, Diet, and Habitats of Equus in the Pleistocene of Europe
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DOI：
10.3389/fevo.2021.622412
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发表时间：
2021-02
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
Juha J. Saarinen;O. Cirilli;Flavia Strani;K. Meshida;R. Bernor
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作者：
Juha J. Saarinen;O. Cirilli;Flavia Strani;K. Meshida;R. Bernor
马属的单趾马起源于上新世的北美，从更新世开始，它们一直是欧洲，北美和非洲大型有蹄类动物群落的重要组成部分。了解马属物种的身体大小如何演变和变化的环境和饮食的变化，从而形成了一个重要的组成部分，了解有蹄类动物的身体大小变化的动态更新世古环境变化。在这里，我们测试以前发表的身体质量估计方程的家庭马科动物的调查如何准确不同的骨骼和牙齿测量估计的平均体重（和体重范围）报告现存的Grevy的斑马（马grevyi）和Burvy的斑马（马斑驴）。基于这些测试和信息的骨骼元素出现在化石记录中的频率，我们构建了一个层次的最佳实践的选择马的体重估计方程。作为一个案例研究，我们探讨了在更新世欧洲马古种群的饮食和植被结构在他们的古环境中的身体大小变化。我们显示了饮食和体型之间的关系在马：非常大的物种往往有更多的浏览为主的饮食比小型和中型的物种，和古植被代理平均更开放，草丰富的古环境，小型，放牧的马。当一个以上的马属物种共存同域，较大的物种往往是不那么丰富，并有更多的浏览为主的饮食比较小的物种。我们认为，更新世马的身体大小的变化是由资源质量和可用性，物种之间的栖息地和资源的分区，以及环境开放性和群体大小对个体的身体大小的影响的综合影响。
The monodactyl horses of the genus Equus originated in North America during the Pliocene, and from the beginning of the Pleistocene, they have been an essential part of the large ungulate communities of Europe, North America and Africa. Understanding how body size of Equus species evolved and varied in relation to changes in environments and diet thus forms an important part of understanding the dynamics of ungulate body size variation in relation to Pleistocene paleoenvironmental changes. Here we test previously published body mass estimation equations for the family Equidae by investigating how accurately different skeletal and dental measurements estimate the mean body mass (and body mass range) reported for extant Grevy's zebra (Equus grevyi) and Burchell's zebra (Equus quagga). Based on these tests and information on how frequently skeletal elements occur in the fossil record, we construct a hierarchy of best practices for the selection of body mass estimation equations in Equus. As a case study, we explore body size variation in Pleistocene European Equus paleopopulations in relation to diet and vegetation structure in their paleoenvironments. We show a relationship between diet and body size in Equus: very large-sized species tend to have more browse-dominated diets than small and medium-sized species, and paleovegetation proxies indicate on average more open and grass-rich paleoenvironments for small-sized, grazing species of Equus. When more than one species of Equus co-occur sympatrically, the larger species tend to be less abundant and have more browse-dominated diets than the smaller species. We suggest that body size variation in Pleistocene Equus was driven by a combined effect of resource quality and availability, partitioning of habitats and resources between species, and the effect of environmental openness and group size on the body size of individuals.