Skeleton of an unusual, cat-sized marsupial relative (Metatheria: Marsupialiformes) from the middle Eocene (Lutetian: 44-43 million years ago) of Turkey.
Skeleton of an unusual, cat-sized marsupial relative (Metatheria: Marsupialiformes) from the middle Eocene (Lutetian: 44-43 million years ago) of Turkey.
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DOI：
10.1371/journal.pone.0181712
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发表时间：
2017
期刊：
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
Beck RMD
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Maga AM;Beck RMD
我们描述了一个近乎完整的、三维保存的始新世中期（卢特海：44-4300 万年前）后兽类（与现代有袋动物相对）的骨骼，它是土耳其中部 Uzunçarşıdere 组的 Lülük 成员。据估计，它的体重为 3-4 公斤，大约相当于家猫 (Felis catus) 或斑点袋鼬 (Dasyurus maculatus) 的大小，比之前已知的北半球新生代最大的后兽类化石大一个数量级。这种新分类单元的特征是大而宽的第三前磨牙，可能代表了对硬物进食（硬食性）的适应，其颅齿形态表明其具有产生高咬合力的能力。对其颅后骨骼的定性和定量功能分析表明，它可能是扫描性的且相对敏捷，在运动模式上可能与斑点袋鼬大致相似，但具有更强的攀爬和抓握能力。对包含来自五个核蛋白编码基因的 259 个形态特征和 9kb DNA 序列数据的总证据数据集进行贝叶斯系统发育分析，使用未注明日期和“尖端和节点测年”方法，将新分类单元置于有袋动物冠分支之外，但位于有袋类分支内。它表明，在新生代早期，至少有一种后兽类谱系进化到占据了北半球的中小型、中型或低食肉动物生态位，当时有许多真兽类（胎盘动物及其化石亲戚）占据了类似的生态位。然而，来自 Uzunçarşıdere 地层的已知哺乳动物群似乎具有高度地方性，地质证据表明，土耳其的这一地区至少在新生代早期的部分时间里是一个岛屿，因此新的分类单元可能是在与潜在的真兽类竞争者隔离的情况下进化的。然而，新的分类单元揭示了新生代上半叶北半球后兽类之间先前未曾怀疑的生态形态差异。
We describe a near-complete, three-dimensionally preserved skeleton of a metatherian (relative of modern marsupials) from the middle Eocene (Lutetian: 44–43 million years ago) Lülük member of the Uzunçarşıdere Formation, central Turkey. With an estimated body mass of 3–4 kg, about the size of a domestic cat (Felis catus) or spotted quoll (Dasyurus maculatus), it is an order of magnitude larger than the largest fossil metatherians previously known from the Cenozoic of the northern hemisphere. This new taxon is characterised by large, broad third premolars that probably represent adaptations for hard object feeding (durophagy), and its craniodental morphology suggests the capacity to generate high bite forces. Qualitative and quantitative functional analyses of its postcranial skeleton indicate that it was probably scansorial and relatively agile, perhaps broadly similar in locomotor mode to the spotted quoll, but with a greater capacity for climbing and grasping. Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of a total evidence dataset comprising 259 morphological characters and 9kb of DNA sequence data from five nuclear protein-coding genes, using both undated and “tip-and-node dating” approaches, place the new taxon outside the marsupial crown-clade, but within the clade Marsupialiformes. It demonstrates that at least one metatherian lineage evolved to occupy the small-medium, meso- or hypo-carnivore niche in the northern hemisphere during the early Cenozoic, at a time when there were numerous eutherians (placentals and their fossil relatives) filling similar niches. However, the known mammal fauna from Uzunçarşıdere Formation appears highly endemic, and geological evidence suggests that this region of Turkey was an island for at least part of the early Cenozoic, and so the new taxon may have evolved in isolation from potential eutherian competitors. Nevertheless, the new taxon reveals previously unsuspected ecomorphological disparity among northern hemisphere metatherians during the first half of the Cenozoic.
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影响因子：
0.9
作者：
Alejandra Abello, Maria;De Los Reyes, Martin;Mamani Quispe, Bernardino
通讯作者：
Mamani Quispe, Bernardino
影响因子：
2.6
作者：
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通讯作者：
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影响因子：
1.9
作者：
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DOI：
10.1098/rspb.2011.0486
发表时间：
2011-12-07
影响因子：
4.7
作者：
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通讯作者：
Hocknull, Scott
影响因子：
1.3
作者：
Argot, C
通讯作者：
Argot, C