Lineage-specific responses of tooth shape in murine rodents (murinae, rodentia) to late Miocene dietary change in the Siwaliks of Pakistan.

ABSTRACT: Past ecological responses of mammals to climate change are recognized in the fossil record by adaptive significance of morphological variations. To understand the role of dietary behavior on functional adaptations of dental morphology in rodent evolution, we examine evolutionary change of tooth shape in late Miocene Siwalik murine rodents, which experienced a dietary shift toward C4 diets during late Miocene ecological change indicated by carbon isotopic evidence. Geometric morphometric analysis in the outline of upper first molars captures dichotomous lineages of Siwalik murines, in agreement with phylogenetic hypotheses of previous studies (two distinct clades: the Karnimata and Progonomys clades), and indicates lineage-specific functional responses to mechanical properties of their diet

SUBMITTER: Kimura Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3796524 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature