Inferring palaeoecology in extinct tremarctine bears (Carnivora, Ursidae) using geometric morphometrics
Open Access
- 1 June 2010
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Scandinavian University Press / Universitetsforlaget AS in Lethaia
- Vol. 43 (2), 209-222
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1502-3931.2009.00184.x
Abstract
In this study we explore the ecomorphological patterns of extinct tremarctine bears in South America during the Great American Biotic Interchange (GABI). These patterns are used to derive palaeoautoecological inferences in extinct tremarctines and their palaeosinecological relationships within Plio-Pleistocene ecosystems. We used geometric morphometrics of landmark data to recover the shape of the craniomandibular skeleton of bears. The results reveal different ecomorphological specializations in extinct tremarctines during the Plio-Pleistocene of South America. Indeed, these bears could have increased the percentage of plant matter in their diets according with the increased diversity of large carnivores in South America after the GABI. Omnivorous bears retain the ability to behave as carnivores or herbivores depending on resource availability. This fact strongly supports that bears are one of the most ecologically and morphologically adaptable members of the large carnivore guild. Moreover, their skull morphology could reflect ecological adaptations under different selection pressures with the required evolutionary time. square Evolution, GABI, geometric morphometrics, palaeoecology, Tremarctinae.Keywords
This publication has 31 references indexed in Scilit:
- Ecomorphological correlates of craniodental variation in bears and paleobiological implications for extinct taxa: an approach based on geometric morphometricsJournal of Zoology, 2008
- Mitochondrial genomes reveal an explosive radiation of extinct and extant bears near the Miocene-Pliocene boundaryBMC Evolutionary Biology, 2008
- Feeding ecology and morphology of the upper canines in bears (carnivora: Ursidae)Journal of Morphology, 2008
- Evolutionary implications of bite mechanics and feeding ecology in bearsJournal of Zoology, 2007
- Bite forces, canine strength and skull allometry in carnivores (Mammalia, Carnivora)Journal of Zoology, 2005
- Geometric morphometrics: Ten years of progress following the ‘revolution’Italian Journal of Zoology, 2004
- Helarctos malayanusMammalian Species, 2002
- Seasonal and Habitat-Related Diets of Sloth Bears in NepalJournal of Mammalogy, 1997
- Ursus maritimusMammalian Species, 1981
- The Giant Panda a Morphological Study of Evolutionary MechanismsJournal of Mammalogy, 1966