The Internal Otic Region of Oromerycids (Artiodactyla, Oromerycidae), Early Camelids (Artiodactyla, Camelidae), and the Vicuna (Artiodactyla, Camelidae), Including Notes on Intraspecific and Subadult Ontogenetic Variation.

ABSTRACT: The taxonomic composition of the suborder Tylopoda is an ongoing debate. Recently, the internal otic region (petrosal and bony labyrinth) has been intensively studied as a source of additional morphological data, but the morphology of this region in extinct tylopods is not well documented. To remedy this, we used µCT scanning to image and describe the petrosal and bony labyrinth of two oromerycids (Protylopus, Eotylopus), four early camelids (Poebrotherium wilsoni, Poebrotherium eximium, Paratylopus primaevus, Stevenscamelus franki), and the living vicuña (Vicugna vicugna). Several early camelid specimens also preserved the ear ossicles (malleus, incus, stapes), enabling us to describe their morphology for the first time. Our sample allows us to not only compare among

SUBMITTER: Robson SV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12713648 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature