Cranial evolution in the extinct Rodrigues Island owl Otus murivorus (Strigidae), associated with unexpected ecological adaptations.

ABSTRACT: Island birds that were victims of anthropic extinctions were often more specialist species, having evolved their most distinctive features in isolation, making the study of fossil insular birds most interesting. Here we studied a fossil cranium of the 'giant' extinct scops owl Otus murivorus from Rodrigues Island (Mascarene Islands, southwestern Indian Ocean), to determine any potential unique characters. The fossil and extant strigids were imaged through X-ray microtomography, providing 3D views of external and internal (endocast, inner ear) cranial structures. Geometric morphometrics and analyses of traditional measurements yielded new information about the Rodrigues owl's evolution and ecology. Otus murivorus exhibits a 2-tier "lag behind" phenomenon for cranium and brain evolution, bot

SUBMITTER: Duhamel A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7441405 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature