Journal article
Incisor enamel microstructure of West Indian caviomorph hystricognathous rodents (Octodontoidea and Chinchilloidea)
Journal of mammalian evolution, Vol.29, pp.969-995
12/2023
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Abstract
Analysis of the incisor enamel microstructure of extinct and extant West Indian caviomorph rodents emphasizes a clear microstructural distinction between the Echimyidae (Capromyinae and Heteropsomyinae) among Octodontoidea and the "Heptaxodontidae" whose phylogenetic affinities are debated. All capromyines and heteropsomyines have a pattern of enamel characterized by a rectangular crystallite arrangement, which is biomechanically strongest in limiting crack propagation most efficiently (subtype [Sbt.] 3 of multiserial Hunter-Schreger bands [HSBs]). This enamel condition is exclusive to all mainland octodontoids. In stark contrast, “heptaxodontids” sampled here exhibit much less derived enamel subtypes of multiserial HSBs with parallel to acute angular crystallite arrangement (Sbt. 1 [Clidomys], Sbt. 1–2 [Elasmodontomys], and low acute Sbt. 2 [Amblyrhiza]), less well adapted for prevention of crack propagation. The incisor enamel microstructure of Amblyrhiza and Clidomys is consistent with a chinchilloid assignment, as reflected by the anatomy of their auditory region and their unusual dental pattern. For Elasmodontomys, the primitive condition of its incisor enamel is difficult to reconcile with its highly nested phylogenetic position within the Octodontoidea clade (among the Capromyinae), as recently inferred from aDNA analyses. The different enamel patterns among extinct and extant West Indian caviomorphs indicate distinct high-level taxonomic groups, but restricted to the Octochinchilloi (Octodontoidea and Chinchilloidea) among Caviomorpha. The great diversity of caviomorphs on the Caribbean islands resulted from intra-archipelago diversification through time, but their high-level phylogenetic diversity can only be explained by distinct sources, implying de facto multiple (potentially time-staggered) natural colonizations of the West Indies. The chinchilloid-compatible enamel and dental pattern characterizing Borikenomys from lower Oligocene deposits in Puerto Rico, strongly suggest a link with some of the recently-extinct "heptaxodontids" that would substantiate their much greater antiquity in the Caribbean islands.
Details
- Title
- Incisor enamel microstructure of West Indian caviomorph hystricognathous rodents (Octodontoidea and Chinchilloidea)
- Creators
- Laurent Marivaux - Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de MontpellierLázaro Viñola López - Florida Museum of Natural History [Gainesville]Myriam Boivin - National University of JujuyLéa da Cunha - Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de MontpellierPierre- Henri Fabre - Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de MontpellierRenaud Joannes-Boyau - Southern Cross UniversityGilles MaincentPhilippe Münch - Géosciences MontpellierNarla Stutz - Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de MontpellierJorge Vélez-Juarbe - Natural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyPierre-Olivier Antoine - Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier
- Publication Details
- Journal of mammalian evolution, Vol.29, pp.969-995
- Comment
- We are indebted to Jonathan I. Bloch (Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, USA) for access to the paleontological collections of his institute, as well as S. Diaz Franco (Cuba) for the donation of his collection to one of us (LWVL). Many thanks to Thomas Martin (Universität Bonn, Germany) for his useful advice regarding the enamel microstructure of rodent incisors and for sharing enamel microstructure data over the last few decades. We are very grateful to our fossil preparator, Anne-Lise Charruault (ISE-M, France), for her availability and for the preparation and handling of the epoxy resin for the embedding of the incisor specimens, as well as for the access to the polishing facilities of the lab. We warmly thank Chantal Cazevieille (Institut des Neurosciences de Montpellier [INM], France) for access to an electron microscope scanning facility, and also for her welcome and much appreciated help in obtaining detailed images of enamel microstructures. Thank you very much to Odile Maincent (Devé, Saint-Barthélemy, French West Indies) for her hospitality and help during our successive feld seasons in Saint-Barth, and for her great interest in our work. We extend our gratitude to Iván Quintero and Ángel Acosta-Colón for assistance with localities in Puerto Rico. We are also grateful to our colleagues François Pujos (IANIGLA, Mendoza, Argentina), Hernán Santos-Mercado (UPRM, Mayagüez, Puerto-Rico), Eduardo J. Cruz (UPRM, Puerto Rico), our late colleague and friend Gilles Merzeraud (Géosciences Montpellier, France), Mélody Philippon and Jean-Jacques Cornée (Géosciences Montpellier & Pointeà-Pitre [Guadeloupe, French West Indies]), who contributed to some of the fieldwork seasons in Puerto Rico and Saint-Barthélemy in the framework of the GAARAnti project. Finally, we thank Thomas Martin (Universität Bonn, Germany), Daniela Kalthof (Associate Editor; The Swedish Museum of Natural History, Sweden) and another anonymous reviewer, who provided formal reviews of this manuscript that enhanced the fnal version. This is ISE-M publication 2022-188 Sud.
- Publisher
- Springer Verlag
- Grant note
- This research was supported by the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) in the framework of the GAARAnti project (ANR-17-CE31-0009) and LabEx CEBA (ANR-10-LABX-25–01).
- Identifiers
- 991013053613502368
- Copyright
- © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2022. Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; Science
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article