Vertebrate palaeontologist working in the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales-CSIC (Madrid, Spain). Phone: +34 91 566 89 79 Address: Departamento de Paleobiología, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales-CSIC
C/ José Gutiérrez Abascal, 2. 28006 Madrid, España
Inferences of function and ecology in extinct taxa have long been a subject of interest because i... more Inferences of function and ecology in extinct taxa have long been a subject of interest because it is fundamental to understand the evolutionary history of species. In this study, we use a quantitative approach to investigate the locomotor behaviour of Simocyon batalleri, a key taxon related to the ailurid family. To do so, we use 3D surface geometric morphometric approaches on the three long bones of the forelimb of an extant reference sample. Next, we test the locomotor strategy of S. batalleri using a leave-one-out cross-validated linear discriminant analysis. Our results show that S. batalleri is included in the morphospace of the living species of musteloids. However, each bone of the forelimb appears to show a different functional signal suggesting that inferring the lifestyle or locomotor behaviour of fossils can be difficult and dependent on the bone investigated. This highlights the importance of studying, where possible, a maximum of skeletal elements to be able to make robust inferences on the lifestyle of extinct species. Finally, our results suggest that S. batalleri may be more arboreal than previously suggested.
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology Publication details, including instructions for authors and su... more Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:
Los representantes del Orden Hyracoidea son muy poco frecuentes en el registro fósil español. Su ... more Los representantes del Orden Hyracoidea son muy poco frecuentes en el registro fósil español. Su primera cita documentada corresponde a un incisivo inferior y a un astrágalo procedentes del área tipo del Vallesiense, publicados en 1981 por Miguel Crusafont y Juana María Golpe. Hace 25 años se publicó la descripción de un maxilar de hiracoideo bastante completo, procedente del Vallesiense de los alrededores de Teruel (yacimiento de La Cantera), sólo acompañado en el registro turolense por un incisivo superior identificado años después en el yacimiento de Las Casiones (Villalba Baja, Turoliense superior). En los últimos años, el yacimiento vallesiense de La Roma 2 (Alfambra, Teruel) ha proporcionado magníficos restos de maxilares y mandíbulas con la dentición de hiracoideos, atribuidos al género Pliohyrax.
Inferences of function and ecology in extinct taxa have long been a subject of interest because i... more Inferences of function and ecology in extinct taxa have long been a subject of interest because it is fundamental to understand the evolutionary history of species. In this study, we use a quantitative approach to investigate the locomotor behaviour of Simocyon batalleri, a key taxon related to the ailurid family. To do so, we use 3D surface geometric morphometric approaches on the three long bones of the forelimb of an extant reference sample. Next, we test the locomotor strategy of S. batalleri using a leave-one-out cross-validated linear discriminant analysis. Our results show that S. batalleri is included in the morphospace of the living species of musteloids. However, each bone of the forelimb appears to show a different functional signal suggesting that inferring the lifestyle or locomotor behaviour of fossils can be difficult and dependent on the bone investigated. This highlights the importance of studying, where possible, a maximum of skeletal elements to be able to make robust inferences on the lifestyle of extinct species. Finally, our results suggest that S. batalleri may be more arboreal than previously suggested.
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology Publication details, including instructions for authors and su... more Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:
Los representantes del Orden Hyracoidea son muy poco frecuentes en el registro fósil español. Su ... more Los representantes del Orden Hyracoidea son muy poco frecuentes en el registro fósil español. Su primera cita documentada corresponde a un incisivo inferior y a un astrágalo procedentes del área tipo del Vallesiense, publicados en 1981 por Miguel Crusafont y Juana María Golpe. Hace 25 años se publicó la descripción de un maxilar de hiracoideo bastante completo, procedente del Vallesiense de los alrededores de Teruel (yacimiento de La Cantera), sólo acompañado en el registro turolense por un incisivo superior identificado años después en el yacimiento de Las Casiones (Villalba Baja, Turoliense superior). En los últimos años, el yacimiento vallesiense de La Roma 2 (Alfambra, Teruel) ha proporcionado magníficos restos de maxilares y mandíbulas con la dentición de hiracoideos, atribuidos al género Pliohyrax.
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