Ecomorphological characterization of murines and non-arvicoline cricetids (Rodentia) from south-western Europe since the latest Middle Miocene to the Mio-Pliocene boundary (MN 7/8-MN13)

Rodents are the most speciose group of mammals and display a great ecological diversity. Despite the greater amount of ecomorphological information compiled for extant rodent species, studies usually lack of morphological data on dentition, which has led to difficulty in directly utilizing existing...

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Autores: Álvarez Sierra, María De Los Ángeles; Hernández Fernández, Manuel; Gómez Cano, Ana R.; Kimura, Yuri; Blanco, Fernando; Menéndez González, Iris
Tipo de documento: Artículo
Fecha de publicación:2017
País:España
Institución:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repositorio:Docta Complutense
Lenguaje:Inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/18539
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/18539
Nivel de acceso:Acceso abierto
Palabra clave:55
56
574
Fourier analysis
Dental morphology
Ecological characterization
Phenogram
Geometric morphometrics
Paleoecology
Rodentia
Mammalia
Miocene
Geología
Paleontología
Ecología (Biología)
2506 Geología
2416 Paleontología
2401.06 Ecología animal
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author Álvarez Sierra, María De Los Ángeles
author2 Hernández Fernández, Manuel
Gómez Cano, Ana R.
Kimura, Yuri
Blanco, Fernando
Menéndez González, Iris
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
author_browse Blanco, Fernando
Gómez Cano, Ana R.
Hernández Fernández, Manuel
Kimura, Yuri
Menéndez González, Iris
Álvarez Sierra, María De Los Ángeles
author_facet Álvarez Sierra, María De Los Ángeles
Hernández Fernández, Manuel
Gómez Cano, Ana R.
Kimura, Yuri
Blanco, Fernando
Menéndez González, Iris
author_role author
collection Docta Complutense
description Rodents are the most speciose group of mammals and display a great ecological diversity. Despite the greater amount of ecomorphological information compiled for extant rodent species, studies usually lack of morphological data on dentition, which has led to difficulty in directly utilizing existing ecomorphological data of extant rodents for paleoecological reconstruction because teeth are the most common or often the only micromammal fossils. Here, we infer the environmental ranges of extinct rodent genera by extracting habitat information from extant relatives and linking it to extinct taxa based on the phenogram of the cluster analysis, in which variables are derived from the principal component analysis on outline shape of the upper first molars. This phenotypic ``bracketing'' approach is particularly useful in the study of the fossil record of small mammals, which is mostly represented by isolated teeth. As a case study, we utilize extinct genera of murines and non-arvicoline cricetids, ranging from the Iberoccitanian latest middle Miocene to the Mio-Pliocene boundary, and compare our results thoroughly with previous paleoecological reconstructions inferred by different methods. The resultant phenogram shows a predominance of ubiquitous genera among the Miocene taxa, and the presence of a few forest specialists in the two rodent groups (Murinae and Cricetidae), along with the absence of open environment specialists in either group of rodents. This appears to be related to the absence of enduring grassland biomes in the Iberian Peninsula during the late Miocene. High consistency between our result and previous studies suggests that this phenotypic ``bracketing'' approach is a very useful tool.
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spelling Ecomorphological characterization of murines and non-arvicoline cricetids (Rodentia) from south-western Europe since the latest Middle Miocene to the Mio-Pliocene boundary (MN 7/8-MN13) Álvarez Sierra, María De Los Ángeles Hernández Fernández, Manuel Gómez Cano, Ana R. Kimura, Yuri Blanco, Fernando Menéndez González, Iris 55 56 574 Fourier analysis Dental morphology Ecological characterization Phenogram Geometric morphometrics Paleoecology Rodentia Mammalia Miocene Geología Paleontología Ecología (Biología) 2506 Geología 2416 Paleontología 2401.06 Ecología animal Rodents are the most speciose group of mammals and display a great ecological diversity. Despite the greater amount of ecomorphological information compiled for extant rodent species, studies usually lack of morphological data on dentition, which has led to difficulty in directly utilizing existing ecomorphological data of extant rodents for paleoecological reconstruction because teeth are the most common or often the only micromammal fossils. Here, we infer the environmental ranges of extinct rodent genera by extracting habitat information from extant relatives and linking it to extinct taxa based on the phenogram of the cluster analysis, in which variables are derived from the principal component analysis on outline shape of the upper first molars. This phenotypic ``bracketing'' approach is particularly useful in the study of the fossil record of small mammals, which is mostly represented by isolated teeth. As a case study, we utilize extinct genera of murines and non-arvicoline cricetids, ranging from the Iberoccitanian latest middle Miocene to the Mio-Pliocene boundary, and compare our results thoroughly with previous paleoecological reconstructions inferred by different methods. The resultant phenogram shows a predominance of ubiquitous genera among the Miocene taxa, and the presence of a few forest specialists in the two rodent groups (Murinae and Cricetidae), along with the absence of open environment specialists in either group of rodents. This appears to be related to the absence of enduring grassland biomes in the Iberian Peninsula during the late Miocene. High consistency between our result and previous studies suggests that this phenotypic ``bracketing'' approach is a very useful tool. PeerJ https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/18539
spellingShingle Ecomorphological characterization of murines and non-arvicoline cricetids (Rodentia) from south-western Europe since the latest Middle Miocene to the Mio-Pliocene boundary (MN 7/8-MN13)
Álvarez Sierra, María De Los Ángeles
55
56
574
Fourier analysis
Dental morphology
Ecological characterization
Phenogram
Geometric morphometrics
Paleoecology
Rodentia
Mammalia
Miocene
Geología
Paleontología
Ecología (Biología)
2506 Geología
2416 Paleontología
2401.06 Ecología animal
title Ecomorphological characterization of murines and non-arvicoline cricetids (Rodentia) from south-western Europe since the latest Middle Miocene to the Mio-Pliocene boundary (MN 7/8-MN13)
title_full Ecomorphological characterization of murines and non-arvicoline cricetids (Rodentia) from south-western Europe since the latest Middle Miocene to the Mio-Pliocene boundary (MN 7/8-MN13)
title_fullStr Ecomorphological characterization of murines and non-arvicoline cricetids (Rodentia) from south-western Europe since the latest Middle Miocene to the Mio-Pliocene boundary (MN 7/8-MN13)
title_full_unstemmed Ecomorphological characterization of murines and non-arvicoline cricetids (Rodentia) from south-western Europe since the latest Middle Miocene to the Mio-Pliocene boundary (MN 7/8-MN13)
title_short Ecomorphological characterization of murines and non-arvicoline cricetids (Rodentia) from south-western Europe since the latest Middle Miocene to the Mio-Pliocene boundary (MN 7/8-MN13)
title_sort Ecomorphological characterization of murines and non-arvicoline cricetids (Rodentia) from south-western Europe since the latest Middle Miocene to the Mio-Pliocene boundary (MN 7/8-MN13)
topic 55
56
574
Fourier analysis
Dental morphology
Ecological characterization
Phenogram
Geometric morphometrics
Paleoecology
Rodentia
Mammalia
Miocene
Geología
Paleontología
Ecología (Biología)
2506 Geología
2416 Paleontología
2401.06 Ecología animal
topic_facet 55
56
574
Fourier analysis
Dental morphology
Ecological characterization
Phenogram
Geometric morphometrics
Paleoecology
Rodentia
Mammalia
Miocene
Geología
Paleontología
Ecología (Biología)
2506 Geología
2416 Paleontología
2401.06 Ecología animal
url https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/18539