Individual variation of the masticatory system dominates 3D skull shape in the herbivory-adapted marsupial wombats.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Within-species skull shape variation of marsupial mammals is widely considered low and strongly size-dependent (allometric), possibly due to developmental constraints arising from the altricial birth of marsupials. However, species whose skulls are impacted by strong muscular stresses - particularly those produced through mastication of tough food items - may not display such intrinsic patterns very clearly because of the known plastic response of bone to muscle activity of the individual. In such cases, allometry may not dominate within-species shape variation, even if it is a driver of evolutionary shape divergence; ordination of shape in a geometric morphometric context through principal component analysis (PCA) should reveal main variation in areas under masticatory

SUBMITTER: Weisbecker V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6824091 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature