Prenatal growth patterns of the upper jaw complex with implications for laryngeal echolocation in bats.

ABSTRACT: Craniofacial morphology is extremely diversified within bat phylogeny, however growth and development of the palate in bats remains unstudied. The formation of both midline and bilateral orofacial clefts in laryngeally echolocating bats, morphologically similar to the syndromic and non-syndromic cleft palate in humans, are not well understood. Developmental series of prenatal samples (n = 128) and adults (n = 10) of eight bat species (two pteropodids, four rhinolophoids, and two yangochiropterans), and two non-bat mammals (Mus musculus and Erinaceus amurensis), were CT-scanned and cranial bones forming the upper jaw complex were three-dimensionally visualised to assess whether differences in palate development can be observed across bat phylogeny. Volumetric data of bones composing the upp

SUBMITTER: Pommery Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11828750 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature