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Charters, D, Brown, RP, Abrams, G, Di Modica, K, Pirson, S, De Groote, I, Ghiraldi, L and Meloro, C (2024) Mandibular ecomorphology in the genus ursus (Ursidae, Carnivora): relevance for the palaeoecological adaptations of cave bears (U. spelaeus) from Scladina cave. Historical Biology. pp. 1-15. ISSN 0891-2963
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Mandibular ecomorphology in the genus ursus (Ursidae, Carnivora) relevance for the palaeoecological adaptations of cave bears (U. spelaeus) from Scladina cave.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (9MB) | Preview |
Abstract
Considerable morphological and ecological diversity has been found in extinct and extant members of the bear genus, Ursus, and appears to be key in explaining how they have thrived across vast ecological gradients. One example is the cave bear Ursus spelaeus. We applied 2D geometric morphometric techniques to describe morphological changes in the mandibles of extant Ursus species to further interpret the palaeoecology of U. spelaeus. Ursus species were discriminated using their mandibular morphology, which showed intra and interspecific shape variation that was indirectly linked to climatic adaptations through dietary variation. Mandibles of bears that inhabit colder, drier and more seasonal environments were generally slender with large diastema and a dorsoventrally smaller ramus. In contrast, species from warmer environments with higher levels of precipitation were found to have a dorsoventrally taller ramus (relative to the corpus). Discriminant function analyses of the morphology of U. spelaeus suggested adaptations to a series of fluctuating environments through time, helping to assess previously proposed Marine Isotope Stages for sedimentary deposits in Scladina Cave. Our geometric morphometrics analyses of bear mandibular ecomorphology demonstrates how geometric morphometrics provides a valuable tool to enhance paleoenvironmental reconstructions within deposits of the same fossil site.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Quaternary; palaeoclimate; evolutionary ecology; mandible; geometric morphometrics; Carnivora; 0403 Geology; 06 Biological Sciences; 0602 Ecology; 0603 Evolutionary Biology; Paleontology |
| Subjects: | Q Science > QH Natural history > QH301 Biology Q Science > QL Zoology |
| Divisions: | Biological and Environmental Sciences (from Sep 19) |
| Publisher: | Taylor and Francis Group |
| SWORD Depositor: | A Symplectic |
| Date Deposited: | 30 Oct 2024 13:05 |
| Last Modified: | 30 Oct 2024 13:15 |
| DOI or ID number: | 10.1080/08912963.2024.2377703 |
| URI: | https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/24623 |
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