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The brain of fur seals, seals, and walrus (Pinnipedia): A comparative anatomical and phylogenetic study of cranial endocasts of semiaquatic mammals

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A Correction to this article was published on 16 September 2023

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Abstract

Pinnipeds are semiaquatic carnivorans that spend most of their lives in water. Although there is currently a better understanding of the phylogenetic relationships among pinniped species, there is a lack of neurobiological studies of their brains conducted in an evolutionary framework. We reconstructed virtual 3D brain endocast of 29 skulls corresponding to adult and subadult specimens, both male and female, belonging to 18 species of pinnipeds. Data collection involved mostly newly acquired computer tomography scan and µCT scan data. In the Otariidae species studied, the olfactory bulbs are proportionally more developed than in other pinnipeds. Individuals of these species spend longer periods on land than phocids and have a social structure in which olfactory information/cues play an important role. The olfactory bulb of phocids is smaller than that of the otariids, with the exception of Hydrurga leptonyx and the males of Mirounga leonina, in which they significantly even larger than those of otariids. The frontal cortex is more extended in otariids and odobenids than in phocids, probably due to a functional relation to a complex social structure. Concerning the temporal cortex, which is related to hearing/orientation, we recorded an enlargement of the posterior zone in phocids, probably related to the need for orientation at great depths in the absence of light, whereas in otariids and odobenids this extension is similar to that of terrestrial carnivorans. The occipital cortex, linked to vision, is well developed in Ommatophoca rossii and Hydrurga leptonyx, and slightly less so in Mirounga leonina and Leptonychotes weddellii.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Drs. Diego Verzi and Itatí Olivares of the Vertebrate Zooology Division of Museo de La Plata (MLP) (Argentina), Dr. Pablo Teta and Mr. Sergio Lucero of Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, Bernardino Rivadavia (MACN) (Argentine), Dr. Javier Negrete of Instituto Antártico Argentino (IAA), and Dr. Alexandra Wegmann Vertebrate Collection, Department of Palaeontology at Universityof Zurich (Switzerland), for providing access to the specimens under their care; to the technicians at CIMED La Plata for their assistance during CT scanning; to Dr. J. Maisano (Digimorph.org), T. Rowe's NSF Digital Libraries Grant, and Morphosurce (https://www.morphosource.org) for the Odobenus rossmarus, Callorhinus ursinus, and Zalophus californianus scans; and to Alexandra Wegmann for the high resolution CT use at the University of Zurich, to Dr. Christy A. Hipsley for the reading and comments on an early version of the ms. We thank two anonymous reviewers and the editors at JME for valuable comments used to improve the manuscript.

Funding

This work was partially funded by the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas (PIP-0798) and Universidad Nacional de La Plata (N-871) to AAC, Argentina.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio de Morfología Evolutiva y Desarrollo (MORPHOS), Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque s/n, 1900, La Plata, Argentina

    Cleopatra Mara Loza, Alejo Carlos Scarano & Alfredo Armando Carlini

  2. CONICET, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Cleopatra Mara Loza, Alejo Carlos Scarano, Claudio Gustavo Barbeito & Alfredo Armando Carlini

  3. Department of Paleontology, University of Zurich, Karl-Schmid Strasse 4, 8006, Zurich, Switzerland

    Marcelo R. Sánchez-Villagra

  4. Departamento de Ambiente y Turismo, Universidad Nacional de Avellaneda, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Alejo Carlos Scarano

  5. Laboratorio de Histología y Embriología Descriptiva, Experimental y Comparada (LHYEDEC), Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Magalí Romero & Claudio Gustavo Barbeito

  6. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Magalí Romero

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  1. Cleopatra Mara Loza
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Contributions

CML, and AAC: conceived and designed research. CML: conducted macroscopic observations, 3D reconstructions. CML, and MR: described the samples. MS-V performed the mapping of characters. CML, MR, and AAC: designed and performed the figures. ACS: performed the statistical analysis. CML, MS-V, CGB, and AAC analyzed data and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. CML, MS-V, and AAC: wrote the final version of the manuscript. The results presented in this study resulted from a collaborative effort between the authors. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Cleopatra Mara Loza.

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Loza, C.M., Sánchez-Villagra, M.R., Scarano, A.C. et al. The brain of fur seals, seals, and walrus (Pinnipedia): A comparative anatomical and phylogenetic study of cranial endocasts of semiaquatic mammals. J Mammal Evol 30, 1011–1028 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-023-09679-z

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