What is it about?
This study used geometric morphometrics to examine cranial variation in Perognathus using 67 landmarks from 305 adult museum specimens representing 10 species and 33 subspecies from 121 localities. We tested how skull shape relates to taxonomy, phylogeny, allometry, ecology, climate, and evolutionary change through time.
Featured Image
Why is it important?
Silky pocket mice can be difficult to distinguish externally, yet cranial shape differed significantly among species and allowed accurate classification. The analysis also revealed convergence and divergence among lineages, identified P. alticola as especially distinctive, and supported recognition of the P. alticola + P. parvus lineage as the subgenus Cricetodipus.
Perspectives
One of the more useful findings was that quantitative skull shape resolved differences among taxa that had appeared cryptic in earlier studies based on linear measurements. The combination of museum specimens, phylogenetic context, and ecological information also helped separate taxonomic signal from convergent morphology.
Bader H. Alhajeri
Kuwait University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Geometric morphometrics of silky pocket mice (Perognathus: Perognathinae: Rodentia) crania reveals new insights into their variation, evolution, and taxonomy, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, March 2024, Oxford University Press (OUP),
DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlae029.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
