Abstract—
Based on published and original data, several morphofunctional systems were compared in the extant species of Diatomyidae and Ctenodactylidae, both families being considered as sister taxa. The subcutaneous and auricular muscles, otic capsule, jaw apparatus, and distal limbs were examined. These groups were shown to differ significantly in both the level and the direction of the morphofunctional transformations of the above systems. Ctenodactylids are a much more specialized group than Laonastes. They have an otic capsule, a jaw apparatus, and distal limb sections that reach the maximum level of morphological and functional specialization in the rodents, whereas in Laonastes, they correspond approximately to the average level of their development. Both groups are characterized by different pathways of morphological transformations of all systems considered, even those of them (jaw apparatus and limbs) that are associated with adaptations to similar ecological conditions, i.e., life on stones and herbivory. In Laonastes, the structure of the above systems retains archaic characteristics that are combined with features specific only to this group. In gundis, the direction of morphological transformations is completely specific with regard to some of the parameters, while in other respects it corresponds to the trends typical of hystricognathous rodents, this having led to a large number of structural parallelisms. In the structure of each morphological system examined, synapomorphies that support the monophyly of Ctenohystrica were revealed. There is no single-valued morphological evidence for the close relationship between Ctenodactylidae and Laonastes relative to Hystricognathi, although in the structure of almost all of the systems examined there are common features distinguishing these taxa from other rodents, in particular from Hystricognathi. Characters reflecting the pattern of differentiation of the subcutaneous muscle and the features of mastoid pneumatization can be regarded as the most significant for assessing the phylogenetic relationships of Diatomyidae, Ctenodactylidae, and Hystricognathi. However, for a more reliable assessment of the relationships based on morphological data, more extensive material is needed to cover the diversity of the structures considered in hystricognathous rodents.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Alexander, R.M., Animals Mechanics, London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1968.
Argyle, E.C. and Mason, M.J., Middle ear structures of Octodon degus (Rodentia: Octodontidae), in comparison with those of subterranean caviomorphs, J. Mammal., 2008, vol. 89, pp. 1447–1455.
Bell, A., How do middle ear muscles protect the cochlea? Reconsideration of the intralabyrinthine pressure theory, J. Hear. Sci., 2011, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 9–23.
Blanga-Kanfi, S., Miranda, H., Penn, O., Pupko, T., DeBry, R.W., and Huchon, D., Rodent phylogeny revised: analysis of six nuclear genes from all major rodent clades, BMC Evol. Biol., 2009, vol. 9, no. 1: 71. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-9-71
Bryant, M.D., Phylogeny of Nearctic Sciuridae, Am. Midland Nat., 1945, vol. 33, pp. 257–390.
Budnikow, P. and Wolossjuk, W., Zur Morphologie des M. cutaneous trunci, Anatomischer Anzeiger, 1932, vol. 73, pp. 204–209.
Cox, P.G., Kirkhham, J., and Herrel, A., Masticatory biomechanics of the Laotian rock rat, Laonastes aenigmamus, and the function of the zygomaticomandibularis muscle, Peer J., 2013. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.160
Davydova, A.N. and Zherebtsova, O.V., Subcutaneous musculature of small mustelids (Carnivora, Mustelidae), Tr. Zool. Ins. Ross. Akad. Nauk, 2015, vol. 319, no. 3, pp. 363–377.
Dawson, M.R., Marivaux, L., Li, Ch., Beard, K.Ch., and Metais, G., Laonastes and the “Lazarus effect” in recent mammals, Science, 2006, vol. 311, pp. 1456–1458.
Dieterlen, F., Suborder Hystricomorpha. Infraorder Ctenodactylomorphi, in Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Wilson, D.E. and Reeder, D.A.M., Eds., Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 2005, vol. 2, 3rd ed., pp. 1536–1537.
Dobson, G.E., A Monograph of the Insectivora. Systematic and Anatomical, London: John van Voorst, 1882, pt. I.
Flynn, L.J., Origin and evolution of the Diatomyidae, with clues to paleoecology from the fossil record, Bull. Carnegie Mus. Nat. Hist., 2007, vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 173–181. https://doi.org/10.2992/0145-9058
Flynn, L.J., Jacobs, L.L., and Cheema, I.U., Baluchimyinae, a new ctenodactyloid rodent subfamily from the Miocene of Balucistan, Am. Mus. Novit., 1986, no. 2841, pp. 1–58.
Gambaryan, P.P., Evolyutsiya litsevoi muskulatury mlekopitayushchikh (Evolution of the Facial Musculature of Mammals), Leningrad: Nauka, 1989.
Gambaryan, P.P. and Zherebtsova, O.V., Transformation of hypodermic muscles caused by the development of acicular integument in Insectivora (Erinaceidae, Tenrecidae). Communication 1, Zool. Zh., 1988, vol. 67, no. 1, pp. 79–89.
Gambaryan, P.P. and Zherebtsova, O.V., Transformation of hypodermic muscles caused by the development of acicular integumentin Insectivora (Erinaceidae, Tenrecidae). Communication 2, Zool. Zh., 1988a, vol. 67, no. 2, pp. 189–199.
Gambaryan, P.P., Zherebtsova, O.V., and Perepelova, A.A., Comparative analysis of forelimb musculature in Laonastes aenigmamus (Rodentia: Diatomyidae), Tr. Zool. Ins. Ross. Akad. Nauk, 2013, vol. 317, no. 3, pp. 226–245.
Gambaryan, P.P. and Zherebtsova, O.V., Short muscles of the hand and foot in Laonastes aenigmamus (Rodentia: Diatomyidae) and other rock-dwellers, Russ. J. Theryol., 2014, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 83–95.
Gambaryan, P.P., Zherebtsova, O.V., and Platonov, V.V., Convergent development of subcutaneous muscles in moles and golden moles, Zh. Obshch. Biol., 2010, vol. 71, no. 3, pp. 163–175.
Gambaryan, P.P., Zherebtsova, O.V., and Platonov, V.V., Two directions in the specialization in digging in insectivorous mammals (Talpidae, Chrysochloridae), Tr. Zool. Ins. Ross. Akad. Nauk, 2015, vol. 319, no. 3, pp. 351–362.
Gardner, A.L. and Emmons, H.L., Species groups in Proechimys (Rodentia, Echimyidae) as indicated by karyology and bullar morphology, J. Mammal., 1984, vol. 65, no. 1, pp. 10–25.
Hautier, L., Masticatory muscle architecture in the gundi Ctenodactylus vali (Mammalia, Rodentia), Mammalia, 2010, vol. 74, pp. 153–162. https://doi.org/10.1515/MAMM.2010.025
Hautier, L. and Saksiri, S., Masticatory muscle architecture in the Laotian rock rat Laonastes aenigmamus (Mammalia, Rodentia): new insights into the evolution of hystricognathy, J. Anat., 2009, vol. 215, pp. 401–410. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7580.2009.01130.x
Hautier, L., Lebrun, R., Saksiri, S., Michaux, J., Vianey-Liaud, M., and Marivaux, L., Hystricognathy vs sciurognathy in the rodent jaw: a new morphometric assessment of hystricognathy applied to the living fossil Laonastes (Diatomyidae), PLoS One, 2011, vol. 6, no. 4. e18698. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0018698
Hautier, L., Lebrun, R., and Cox, P.G., Patterns of covariation in the masticatory apparatus of hystricognathous rodents: implications for evolution and diversification, J. Morphol., 2012, vol. 273, pp. 1319–1337.
Herrel, A., Farbe, A.-C., Hugot, J.-P., Keovichit, K., Adriaens, D., Brabant, L., van Hoorebeke, L., and Cornette, R., Ontogeny of the cranial system in Laonastes aenigmamus,J. Anat., 2012, vol. 221, рр. 128–137. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7580.2012.01519.x
Howell, A.B., Anatomy of the Wood Rat, Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins, 1926.
Howell, A.B., The saltatorial rodent Dipodomys: the functional and comparative anatomy of its muscular and osseous systems, Proc. Am. Acad. Arts Sci., 1932, vol. 67, no. 10, pp. 377–536.
Huber, E., Evolution of Facial Musculature and Facial Expression, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 1931.
Huchon, D., Chevret, P., Jordan, U., Kilpatrick, C.W., Ranwez, V., Jenkins, P.D., Brosius, J., and Schmitz, J., Multiple molecular evidences for a living mammalian fossil, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A., 2007, vol. 104, pp. 7495–7499.
Jenkins, P.D., Family Diatomyidae (Kha-Nyou), in Handbook of the Mammals of the World, vol. 6: Lagomorphs and Rodents, Part I, Wilson D.E., Lacher, T.E., Jr., and Mittereier, R.A., Eds., Barcelona: Lynx Editions, 2016, pp. 270–279.
Jenkins, P.D., Kilpatrick, C.W., Robinson, M.F., and Timmins, R.J., Morphological and molecular investigations of a new family, genus and species of rodent (Mammalia: Rodentia: Hystricognatha) from Lao PDR, Syst. Biodivers., 2005, vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 419–454.
Johnson-Murray, J.L., The comparative myology of the gliding membranes of Acrobates, Petauroides and Petaurus contrasted with the cutaneous myology Hemibelideus and Pseudocheirus (Marsupialia, Phalangeridae) and with the selected gliding Rodentia (Sciuridae and Anamoluridae), Austral. J. Zool., 1987, vol. 35, no. 2, pp. 101–113.
Jones, G.M. and Spells, K.E., A theoretical and comparative study of the functional dependence of the semicircular canal upon its physical dimensions, Proc. R. Soc. London Ser. B: Biol. Sci., 1962, vol. 157, no. 968, pp. 403–419. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.1963.0019
Klingener, D.J., The comparative myology of four dipodoid rodents (genus Zapus, Napeozapus, Sicista and Jaculus), Miscellaneous Publications Museum of Zoology University of Michigan Press, 1964, vol. 124.
Laakkonen, J., Jernvall, J., Soven, T., Keovichit, K., and Hugot, J.-P., Anatomy of the gastrointestinal tract and dental ecomorphology of the Laotian rock rat (Laonastes aenigmamus), in VI European Congress of Mammalogy, July 19–23,2011, France, Paris, Abstracts of Papers, 2011, p. 63.
Langworthy, O.R., A morphological study of the Panniculus carnosus and its genetical relationship to the pectoral musculature in rodents, Am. J. Anat., 1925, vol. 35, pp. 283–302.
Lavocat, R.R.M. and Parent, J.-P., Phylogenetic analysis of middle ear feature in fossil and living rodents, in Evolutionary Relationships among Rodents: A Multidisciplinary Analysis, Luckett, W. P. and Hartenberger, J.-L., Eds., NATO ASI Ser. A: Life Sci., New York: Plenum Press, 1985, vol. 92, pp. 333–354.
Lay, D.M., The anatomy, physiology, functional significance and evolution of specialized hearing organs of gerbilline rodents, J. Morphol., 1972, vol. 138, no. 1, pp. 41–120.
López-Antonanzas, R., Family Ctenodactydae (Gundis), in Handbook of the Mammals of the World, Wilson D.E., Lacher, T.E., Jr., and Mittereier, R.A., Eds., vol. 6: Lagomorphs and Rodents I, Barcelona: Lynx Editions, 2016, pp. 288–297.
Mares, M. and Lacher, T.E., Ecological, morphological, and behavioral convergence in rock-dwelling mammals, in Current Mammalogy, Genoways, H., Ed., New York: Plenum, 1987, pp. 307–348.
Mason, M.J., The middle ear apparatus of the tuco-tuco Ctenomys sociabilis (Rodentia, Ctenomyidae), J. Mammal., 2004, vol. 85, no. 4, pp. 797–805.
Mason, M.J., Of mice, moles and guinea-pigs: functional morphology of the middle ear in living mammals, Hear. Res., 2012, vol. 301. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heares.2012.10.004
Mason, M.J., Structure and function of the mammalian middle ear. I: Large middle ears in small desert mammals, J. Anat., 2016, vol. 228, no. 2, pp. 284–299. https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.12313
Mason, M.J., Structure and function of the mammalian middle ear. II: Inferring function from structure, J. Anat., 2016a, vol. 228, no. 2, p. 300–312. https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.1231626100915
Mason, M.J., Willi, U.B., and Narins, P.M., Comments on “Tympanic-membrane and malleus-incus-complex co-adaptations for high-frequency hearing in mammals,” by Sunil Puria and Charles Steele, Hear. Res., 2010, vol. 267, pp. 1–3.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heares.2010.04.010
Mason, M.J., Cornwall, H.L., and Smith, E.St.J., Ear structures of the naked mole-rat, Heterocephalus glaber, and its relatives (Rodentia: Bathyergidae), PLoS One, 2016, vol. 11, no. 12. e0167079. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0167079
Medvedeva, G.A., Evolutionary tendencies in development of auricle musculature in bats, in European Bat Research, Hanák, V., Horáĉek, I., and Gaisler, J., Eds., Praha: Charles Univ. Press, 1989, pp. 49–60.
Mein, P. and Ginsburg, L., Les mammifères du gisement miocène inférieur de Li Mae Long, Thaïland: Systématique, biostratigraphie et paléoenvironnement, Geodiversitas, 1997, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 783–844.
Meinertz, T., Die Hautmusulatur der Saugetiere. Untersuchungen uber die Hautmuskulatur der Saugetiere mit besonderer Rucksicht auf das oberflachliche Facialisgebiet. I. Cavia cobaya,Gegenbaurs morphologisches Jahrbuch, 1932, vol. 69, pp. 110–220.
Meinertz, T., Das oberflachliche Facialisgebiet der Nager, Zoologische Jahrbuch (Anat.), 1941, vol. 67, pp. 119–270.
Meinertz, T., Das superfizielle Facialisgebiet der Nager. VII. Die hystricomorphen Nager, Zeitschrift fur Anatomie und Entwicklungsgeschichte, 1944, vol. 113, no. 1, pp. 1–38.
Michelsson, G., Die Hautmuskulatur des Igels (Erinaceus europaeus), Morphologischer Jahrbucher, 1922, vol. 69, pp. 110–220.
Nguyen, D.X., Nguyen, N.X., Nguyen, D.D., Dinh, T.H., Le, D.T., and Dinh, D.H., Distribution and habitat of the Laotian rock rat Laonastes aenigmamus Jenkins, Kilpatrick, Robinson & Timmins, 2005 (Rodentia: Diatomyidae) in Vietnam, Biodiversity Data J., 2014, vol. 2. e4188. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.2.e4188
Parsons, F.G., On the myology of the sciuromorphine and hystricomorphine rodents, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1894, vol. 18, pp. 251–296.
Pavlinov, I.Ya. and Rogovin, K., The ratio of the size of the outer ear and the auditory capsule in specialized arid rodents, Zh. Obshch. Biol., 2000, vol. 61, no. 1, pp. 87–101.
Pavlinov, I.Ya., Dubrovskii, Yu.A., Rossolimo, O.L., and Potapova, E.G., Peschanki mirovoi fauny (Gerbils of the World Fauna), Moscow: Nauka, 1990.
Peter, W., Contributions to the knowledge of Pectinator a genus of Rodent Mammalia from North-eastern Africa, Trans. Zool. Soc. London, 1971, pp. 297–410.
Pfaff, C., Martin, T., and Ruf, I., Bony labyrinth morphometry indicates locomotor adaptations in the squirrel-related clade (Rodentia, Mammalia), Proc. R. Soc. London, Ser. B: Biol. Sci., 2015, no. 1809. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.0744
Potapova, E.G., Pathways of the transformation of the osseous middle ear in Dipodoidea (Rodentia), Zool. Zh., 1998, vol. 77, no. 1, pp. 80–87.
Potapova, E.G., Morphological patterns and evolutionary pathways of the middle ear in dormice (Gliridae, Rodentia), Trakya Univ. J. Sci. Res. Ser. B: Nat. Appl. Sci., 2001, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 159–170.
Potapova, E.G., On phylogenetic relationships of the genus Laonastes based on studies of the middle ear morphology, in VI European Congress of Mammalogy, July 19–23,2011, France, Paris, Abstracts of Papers, 2011, p. 64.
Potapova, E.G., Zygo-masseter structure in rodents (typological classification and adaptive aspects), Zool. Zh., 2014, vol. 93, no. 7, pp. 841–856.
Potapova, E.G., The specifics and pathways of evolutionary transformations of the jaw muscles in Laonastes aenigmamus and Ctenodactylus gundi (Ctenodactyloidea, Rodentia), Tr. Zool. Inst. Ross. Akad. Nauk, 2015, vol. 319, no. 3, pp. 401–417.
Potapova, E.G., Structural and phylogenetic aspects of the typology of the lower jaw of rodents, in Sovremennye problemy paleontologii. Materialy LXI sessii Paleontologicheskogo obshchestva pri RAN (13–17 aprelya 2015 g.) (Modern Problems of Paleontology, Proc. LXI Session of the Paleontological Society of the Russian Academy of Sciences (April 13–17, 2015, St. Petersburg)), St. Petersburg: St. Petersburg, 2015a, pp. 166–167.
Potapova, E.G., The structure of the tongue of scaly-tailed squirrels (Anomaluridae, Rodentia), Biol. Bull. (Moscow), 2018, vol. 45, no. 8, pp. 865–871. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359018080137
Potapova, E.G., Morphological specificity of the sciurid auditory capsule (Sciuridae, Rodentia), Biol. Bull. (Moscow), 2019, vol. 46, no. 7, pp. 76–89. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359019070094
Puria, S. and Steele, C., Tympanic-membrane and malleus-incus-complex coadaptations for high-frequency hearing in mammals, Hear. Res., 2010, vol. 263, nos. 1–2, pp. 183–190.
Rinker, G.C., The comparative myology of the mammalian genera Sigmodon, Oryzomys, Neotoma, and Peromyscus (Cricetinae), with remarks of their intergeneric relationships, Miscellaneous Publications Museum of Zoology University of Michigan Press, 1954, vol. 83.
Rossolimo, O.L., Potapova, E.G., Pavlinov, I.Ya., Kruskop, S.V., and Voltsit, O.V., Soni (Myoxidae) mirovoi fauny (Dormice (Myoxidae) of the World), Moscow: Mosk. Univ., 2001.
Schleich, E. and Busch, C., Functional morphology of the middle ear of Ctenomys talarum (Rodentia: Octodontidae), J. Mammal., 2004, vol. 85, no. 2, pp. 290–295. https://doi.org/10.1644/1545-1542(2004)085<0290:FMOTME>2.0.CO;2
Schneider, H., Die Ohrmuskulatur von Asellia tridens Geoffr. (Hipposideridae) und Myotis myotis Borkh (Vespertilionidae) (Chiroptera), Zoologische Jahrbuch (Anat.), 1961, vol. 79, pp. 93–122.
Schreiber, H.J., Untersuchungen uber die facialismuskulatur einiger nager, Gegenbaurs morphologisches Jahrbuch, 1929, vol. 62, pp. 243–318.
Schutz, H., Jamniczky, H.A., Hallgrimsson, B., and Garland, T., Jr., Shape-shift: semicircular canal morphology responds to selective breeding for increased locomotor activity, Evolution, 2014, vol. 68, pp. 3184–3198. https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.12501
Scopin, A.E., Savelev, A.P., Suntsova, N.A., Gnophanxay, S., Tikhonov, A.N., and Abramov, A.V., Digestive system of the lLaotian rock rat Laonastes aenigmamus (Rodentia: Diatomyidae) from the evolutionary viewpoint, Tr. Zool. Ins. Ross. Akad. Nauk, 2011, vol. 315, no. 1, pp. 226–245.
Sokolov, V.E., Fauna Mira (The Fauna of the World), Moscow: Agropromizdat, 1990.
Sullivan, W.E. and Osgood, C.W., The facialis musculature of the orang (Simia satyrus), Anat. Rec., 1925, vol. 29, pp. 195–343.
Tullberg, T., Uber das System der Nagethiere, eine phylogenetische Studie, in Nova Acta Regiae Societatis Scientiarum Upsaliensis, Upsala, 1899, ser. 3, vol. 18.
Vedurmudi, A.P., Young, B.A., and van Hemmen, J.L., Internally coupled ears: mathematical structures and mechanisms underlying ice, Biol. Cybern., 2016, vol. 110, рр. 359–392.https://doi.org/10.1007/s00422-016-0696-4
Walker, E.P., Mammals of the World, Baltimore: John Hopkins Univ. Press, 1975, vols. 1–2.
Webster, D.B. and Webster, M., Auditory systems of Heteromyidae: functional morphology and evolution of the middle ear, J. Morphol., 1975, vol. 146, no. 2, pp. 343–376.
Webster, D.B. and Webster, M., Morphological adaptations of the ear in the rodent family Heteromyidae, Am. Zool., 1980, vol. 20, pp. 247–254.
Woods, C.A., Comparative myology of jaw, hyoid and pectoral appendicular regions of New and Old World hystricomorph rodents, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 1972, vol. 147, pp. 115–198.
Woods, C.A. and Howland, E.B., The skin musculature of hystrycognath and other selected rodents, Zentralblatt für Veterinarmedizin reihe Comparativ Anatomia,Histologia und Embryologia, 1977, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 240–264.
Woods, C.A. and Howland, E.B., Adaptative radiation of capromyid rodents: anatomy of the masticatory apparatus, J. Mammal., 1979, vol. 60, pp. 95–115.
Woods, C.A. and Hermanson, J.W., Myology of hystricognath rodents: an analysis of form, function and phylogeny, in Evolutionary Relationships among Rodents: A Multidisciplinary Analysis, Luckett, W.P. and Hartenberger, J.-L., Eds., NATO ASI Ser. A: Life Sci., New York: Plenum Press, 1985, vol. 92, pp. 515–548.
Woods, C.A. and Kilpatrick, C.W., Suborder Hystricomorpha. Infraorder Hystricognathi, in Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Wilson, D.E. and Reeder, D.A.M., Eds., Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 2005, vol. 2, pp. 1538–1600.
Yang, A. and Hullar, T.E., Relationship of semicircular canal size to vestibular- nerve afferent sensitivity in mammals, J. Neurophysiol., 2007, vol. 98, pp. 3197–3205. https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.00798.2007
Zherebtsova, O.V., Facial musculature of Erinaceidae, in Morfologiya mlekopitayushchikh i problemy lokomotsii (The Morphology of Mammals and Locomotion Problems), Tr. Zool. Inst. Akad. Nauk SSSR, 1990, vol. 215, pp. 38–63.
Zherebtsova, O.V., Spiny cover and defense strategy of mammals, Tr. Zool. Inst. Ross. Akad. Nauk, 2000, vol. 286, pp. 169–174.
Zherebtsova, O.V., The auricle muscles of the relict rodent Laonastes aenigmamus (Rodentia: Diatomyidae), Tr. Zool. Inst. Ross. Akad. Nauk, 2012, vol. 316, no. 3, pp. 273–281.
Zherebtsova, O.V., Comparative analysis of the subcutaneous musculature in some hystricomorph rodents (Rodentia: Hystricomorpha), Russ. J. Thereol., 2016, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 159–170.
Zherebtsova, O.V. and Davydova, A.N., The structural features of the integument and subcutaneous musculature of Laonastes aenigmamus, in Teriofauna Rossii i sopredel’nykh territorii. IX S’ezd Teriologicheskogo obshchestva pri RAN (1–4 fevralya 2011 g., Moskva) (Theriofauna of Russia and Adjacent Countries, IX Congress of Theriological Society of the Russian Academy of Sciences, February 1–4, 2011, Moscow), Moscow: Tov. Nauch. Izd. KMK, 2011, p. 162.
Zherebtsova, O., Gambaryan, P., and Davydova, A., Facial musculature and skin in Laonastes aenigmamus: new traits to the portrait of the relict form, in VI European Congress of Mammalogy, July 19–23,2011, France, Paris, Abstracts of Papers, 2011, p. 65.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors thank the staff of the Zoological Museum, Moscow State University (Moscow), and the Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences (St. Petersburg), for the opportunity to use their collections. We are also very grateful to P.P. Gambaryan for fruitful cooperation, valuable advice, and consultation and to V.V. Platonov for his great help in the preparation of illustrations. We express special gratitude to A.V. Abramov for providing the material. The authors thank the staff of the Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Moscow State University, L.P. Korzun, K.B. Gerasimov, and L.N. Skurat for the opportunity to conduct research on a Stemi SV11 binocular stereo microscope, Carl Zeiss.
Funding
The work was performed using the equipment of the Instrumental Methods in Ecology Center for Collective Use, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, within the framework of the FANO project no. 0120-1356-032. This study was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project no. 15-04-03688 and 16-04-00294) and included development of the theme of the state assignment in the laboratory of theriology of the Zoological Institute, of the Russian Academy of Sciences: “Phylogeny, Morphology, and Systematics of Placental Mammals.”
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Ethics declarations
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. This article does not contain any studies involving animals or human participants performed by any of the authors.
Additional information
Translated by N. Smolina
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zherebtsova, O.V., Potapova, E.G. Pathways and Level of Morphological Adaptations in Modern Diatomyidae and Ctenodactylidae (Rodentia). Biol Bull Russ Acad Sci 46, 710–729 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359019070124
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359019070124