Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 10010 Beijing, China;
Published: September 2019
Most living birds exhibit cranial kinesis-movement between the rostrum and braincase-in which force is transferred through the palatal and jugal bars. The palate alone distinguishes the Paleognathae from the Neognathae, with cranial kinesis more developed in neognaths. Most previous palatal studies were based on 2D data and rarely incorporated data from stem birds despite great interest in their kinetic abilities. Here we reconstruct the vomer of the Early Cretaceous stem bird and the troodontid , taxa spanning the dinosaur-bird transition. A 3D shape analysis including these paravians and an extensive sampling of neornithines reveals their strong similarity to paleognaths and indicates that morphological differences in the vomer between paleognaths and neognaths are intimately related to their different kinetic abilities. These results suggest the skull of Mesozoic paravians lacked the kinetic abilities observed in neognaths, a conclusion also supported by our identification of an ectopterygoid in here. We conclude that cranial kinesis evolved relatively late, likely an innovation of the Neognathae, and is linked to the transformation of the vomer. This transformation increased palatal mobility, enabling the evolution of a diversity of kinetic mechanisms and ultimately contributing to the extraordinary evolutionary success of this clade.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6765239 | PMC |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1907754116 | DOI Listing |
Proc Biol Sci
February 2024
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing St, Cambridge CB2 3EQ, UK.
In birds, the quadrate connects the mandible and skull, and plays an important role in cranial kinesis. Avian quadrate morphology may therefore be assumed to have been influenced by selective pressures related to feeding ecology, yet large-scale variation in quadrate morphology and its potential relationship with ecology have never been quantitatively investigated. Here, we used geometric morphometrics and phylogenetic comparative methods to quantify morphological variation of the quadrate and its relationship with key ecological features across a wide phylogenetic sample.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Anat
June 2024
Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
Premaxillary protrusion and the performance advantages it confers are implicated in the success of diverse lineages of teleost fishes, such as Cypriniformes and Acanthomorpha. Although premaxillary protrusion has evolved independently at least five times within bony fishes, much of the functional work investigating this kinesis relates to mechanisms found only in these two clades. Few studies have characterized feeding mechanisms in less-diverse premaxilla-protruding lineages and fewer yet have investigated the distinctive anatomy underlying jaw kinesis in these lineages.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnat Rec (Hoboken)
April 2024
Funktionelle Morphologie im Anatomischen Institut, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
The complex constructions of land vertebrate skulls have inspired a number of functional analyses. In the present study, we provide a basic view on skull biomechanics and offer a framework for more general observations using advanced modeling approaches in the future. We concentrate our discussion on the cranial openings in the temporal skull region and work out two major, feeding-related factors that largely influence the shape of the skull.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Exp Biol
December 2023
Department of Anatomy, New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, NY 11568, USA.
Prokinesis, a mode of avian cranial kinesis involving motion between the neurocranium and upper beak, has long been investigated in biomechanical analyses of avian feeding and drinking. However, the modern avian beak is also used for non-feeding functions. Here, we investigate the dual function of prokinesis in the feeding and locomotor systems of the rosy-faced lovebird (Agapornis roseicollis).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiol Lett
June 2023
Laboratory of Functional Morphology, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerpen, Belgium.
The value of birds' ability to move the upper beak relative to the braincase has been shown in vital tasks like feeding and singing. In woodpeckers, such cranial kinesis has been thought to hinder pecking as delivering forceful blows calls for a head functioning as a rigid unit. Here, we tested whether cranial kinesis is constrained in woodpeckers by comparing upper beak rotation during their daily activities such as food handling, calling and gaping with those from closely related species that also have a largely insectivorous diet but do not peck at wood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!
© LitMetric 2025. All rights reserved.