Dear collegues,
we're pleased to announce that a new publication on fetal and early
post-natal mineralization of timpanic bulla in fin whales is now
available in Plos One.
Cozzi B, Podestà M, Mazzariol S, Zotti A (2012) Fetal and Early
Post-Natal Mineralization of the Tympanic Bulla in Fin Whales May Reveal
a Hitherto Undiscovered Evolutionary Trait. PLoS ONE 7(5): e37110.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0037110
Abstract
The evolution of the cetacean skeleton followed a path that
differentiated this group from other terrestrial mammals about 50
million years ago, and debate is still going on about the relationships
between Cetacea and Artiodactyla. Some skeletal traits of the
basilosaurids (the more advanced forms of Archaeocetes), such as the
expansion of the peribullary air sinuses, dental modification and
vertebral size uniformityare maintained and further emphasized also in
contemporary odontocetes and mysticetes. Using Dual-Energy X-Ray
Absorptiometry here we report that the deposition of bone mineral in
fetal and newborn specimens of the fin whale/Balaenoptera physalus/is
remarkably higher in the/bulla tympanica/than in the adjacent basal
skull or in the rest of the skeleton. Ossification of the tympanic bulla
in fetal Artiodactyla (bovine, hippopotamus) is minimal, becomes
sensible after birth and then progresses during growth, contrarily to
the precocious mineralization that we observed in fin whales. Given the
importance of the ear bones for the precise identification of
phylogenetic relationship in therian evolution, this feature may
indicate a specific evolutionary trait of fin whales and possibly other
cetacean species or families. Early mineralization of the tympanic bulla
allows immediate sound conduction in the aquatic medium and consequently
holds potential importance for mother-calf relationship and postnatal
survival.
You can directly download and/or read the paper at the following address:
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0037110
Best regards
Sandro Mazzariol
--
Dr. Sandro Mazzariol, DVM, PhD
Dipartimento di Biomedicina Comparata e Alimentazione (BCA)
Università degli Studi di Padova
AGRIPOLIS - Viale dell'Università, 16
35020 - Legnaro (PD)
tel.: +39 049 827 2963
fax: +39 049 827 2973
e-mail: [email protected]
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