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Cranial Morphology of the Therian Common Ancestor, as Suggested by the Adaptations of Neonate Marsupials

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Mammal Phylogeny

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Skull structures are properly understood only if their ontogenetic development is considered. It has been argued by a number of authors that the reproductive biology of marsupials may be reminiscent of a primitive ovo-viviparous phase of therian evolution. Therefore, it seemed rewarding to test the hypothesis that the skull structures of neonatal didelphids may be adapted to such a primitive mode of development as well. It is assumed that the head skeleton of the altricially born didelphid is constructed mainly to sustain mechanical strain caused by sucking at the teat, where it is also suspended. It is investigated which structures of the skull may be functionally correlated with the “lactation-complex.” It is mainly the strong chondrocranium that has to provide sufficient stability at first, because exocranial bone development is retarded. It is further argued that the ala temporalis, which ossifies as the alisphenoid, lends support to the side wall of the braincase; the alisphenoid is considered to be fully homologous to the reptilian epipterygoid. The ontogenetic development of the didelphid middle ear is also reminiscent of a primitive evolutionary state. The postdentary elements lie at first close to the medial side of the dentary; in a complicated process of growth they become fixed to the basicranium and then detached from the mandible. The “horizontal anlage” of the tympanic in monotremes and eutherians is not considered to be primitive (postulate of Van Kampen) but secondarily derived two times independently. The nasal capsule of all extant mammals shows a common “bauplan,” which is presented schematically; the importance of macrosmatic adaptations in mammals is pointed out. Most of the derived features of the eutherian skull seem to be linked with its prolonged intrauterine development, which sets different functional conditions on the growing structures; therefore, phenomena of heterochrony play an important role for understanding the eutherian conditions. Whereas early skull development in marsupials is characterized by a number of narrow functional and biological constraints resulting in a certain structural uniformity, the eutherian mode of development seems to provide more freedom for fetal differentiation

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  1. Department of Systematic Zoology, Eberhard Karls-University, Auf der Morgenstelle 28, D-7400, Tübingen, Germany

    Wolfgang Maier

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  1. Departments of Anthropology and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Hunter College and CUNY Graduate Center, 10021, New York, NY, USA

    Frederick S. Szalay

  2. Department of Vertebrate Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, 10024, New York, NY, USA

    Michael J. Novacek  & Malcolm C. McKenna  & 

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Maier, W. (1993). Cranial Morphology of the Therian Common Ancestor, as Suggested by the Adaptations of Neonate Marsupials. In: Szalay, F.S., Novacek, M.J., McKenna, M.C. (eds) Mammal Phylogeny. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-9249-1_12

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