Evolution and development of the jaw adductor chamber in turtles

• Grant number: 16/03934-2
• Support type: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): December 01, 2016
• Effective date (End): November 30, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology
• Principal Investigator: Max Cardoso Langer
• Grantee: Gabriel de Souza Ferreira
• Supervisor abroad: Ingmar Werneburg
• Home Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Local de pesquisa : Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany
• Associated to the scholarship: 14/25379-5 - Evolution, morphology, and development of the pterygoid region in Testudines, focusing on Pleurodira, BP.DR

Abstract

Turtles have a primarily anapsid skull, which was modified several times during the evolution of crown-Testudines, resulting in reductions of skull covering called emarginations. Many factors have been suggested to explain the origin and function of those, such as the jaw adductor musculature arrangement. Similarly, all Testudines have an enlarged otic capsule that reduces the space inside the adductor chamber and affects the course of the fibres of jaw muscles. This resulted in the origin of two independent trochlear mechanisms in this lineage that deflects the jaw adductor musculature around the enlarged otic chamber. Also, in pleurodires (Testudines) a novel structure in the pterygoid bone, the cavum pterygoidei, modifies the arrangement of the jaw adductor muscles in this region. The goal of this project is to understand the origin and evolution of those structures in the adductor chamber of turtles, integrating morphological, embryological, histological and paleontological data providing a more holistic understanding of the subject. The purpose of this internship is to develop the ontogenetic and to complement the paleontological aspects of the initial project at Dr. Ingmar Werneburg's laboratory, at the Universität Tübingen, Germany. During the internship the candidate will analyze histological material and do dissections in conjunction with Dr. Werneburg, and also visit European collections with fossil turtles. This will be of great importance for his academic development, setting collaborative partnerships and strengthen the field of research in vertebrate morphology in Brazil. (AU)

Scientific publications

(8)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

EVERS, SERJOSCHA W.; NEENAN, JAMES M.; FERREIRA, GABRIEL S.; WERNEBURG, INGMAR; BARRETT, PAUL M.; BENSON, ROGER B. J. Neurovascular anatomy of the protostegid turtle Rhinochelys pulchriceps and comparisons of membranous and endosseous labyrinth shape in an extant turtle. ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY, v. 187, n. 3, p. 800-828, NOV 2019. Web of Science Citations: 1.

MARSOLA, JULIO C. A.; FERREIRA, GABRIEL S.; LANGER, MAX C.; BUTTON, DAVID J.; BUTLER, RICHARD J. Increases in sampling support the southern Gondwanan hypothesis for the origin of dinosaurs. Palaeontology, v. 62, n. 3, p. 473-482, MAY 2019. Web of Science Citations: 1.

FERREIRA, GABRIEL S.; BANDYOPADHYAY, SASWATI; JOYCE, WALTER G. A taxonomic reassessment of Piramys auffenbergi, a neglected turtle from the late Miocene of Piram Island, Gujarat, India. PeerJ, v. 6, NOV 15 2018. Web of Science Citations: 0.

CARBONARO, FABIO AUGUSTO; LANGER, MAX CARDOSO; NIHEI, SILVIO SHIGUEO; FERREIRA, GABRIEL DE SOUZA; GHILARDI, RENATO PIRANI. Inferring ancestral range reconstruction based on trilobite records: a study-case on Metacryphaeus (Phacopida, Calmoniidae). SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, v. 8, OCT 12 2018. Web of Science Citations: 1.

FERREIRA, GABRIEL S.; IORI, V, FABIANO; HERMANSON, GUILHERME; LANGER, MAX C. New turtle remains from the Late Cretaceous of Monte Alto-SP, Brazil, including cranial osteology, neuroanatomy and phylogenetic position of a new taxon. PALAEONTOLOGISCHE ZEITSCHRIFT, v. 92, n. 3, p. 481-498, SEP 2018. Web of Science Citations: 4.

GODOY, PEDRO L.; FERREIRA, GABRIEL S.; MONTEFELTRO, FELIPE C.; NOVA, BRUNO C. VILA; BUTLER, RICHARD J.; LANGER, MAX C. Evidence for heterochrony in the cranial evolution of fossil crocodyliforms. Palaeontology, v. 61, n. 4, p. 543-558, JUL 2018. Web of Science Citations: 6.

FERREIRA, GABRIEL S.; BRONZATI, MARIO; LANGER, MAX C.; STERLI, JULIANA. Phylogeny, biogeography and diversification patterns of side-necked turtles (Testudines: Pleurodira). ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE, v. 5, n. 3 MAR 2018. Web of Science Citations: 9.

LAUTENSCHLAGER, STEPHAN; FERREIRA, GABRIEL S.; WERNEBURG, INGMAR. Sensory Evolution and Ecology o Early Turtles Revealed by Digital Endocranial Reconstructions. FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION, v. 6, FEB 5 2018. Web of Science Citations: 7.