Abstract
Morphofunctional Categories and Ontogenetic Origin of Temporal Skull Openings in Amniotes
Highlights
Edited by: Michel Laurin, UMR7207 Centre de Recherche sur la Paléobiodiversité et les Paléoenvironnements (CR2P), France
The phylogenetic position of one early “classical” synapsid group has become controversial, as it has appeared within Reptilia in some phylogenetic analyses (Ford and Benson, 2018; Laurin and Piñeiro, 2018)
Compared to historical classifications (Osborn, 1903; Williston, 1917; Goodrich, 1930), there is a common consensus that temporal openings are only a weak indication for higher taxon interrelationship, it can be informative on lower taxonomic level (Müller, 2003; Laurin and Piñeiro, 2018; MacDougall et al, 2018)
Summary
The ancestral amniote skull likely had an anapsid shape comparable to the skull of non-amniote groups such as the lungfish with full temporal coverage. Jaw muscles broadly originated from the internal surface of the dermatocranial bones of the temporal region and inserted on the lower jaw (Figure 1I, B, B′, C). When compared to early anapsid tetrapods, temporal openings in amniotes are correlated to higher domed skulls, which provide space for longer, more voluminous, and stronger jaw muscles. Jaw musculature originates mainly from the edges of an opening, which, due to its round shape, provides a greater structural stability than a flat bone (Case, 1924; Frazzetta, 1968; Tarsitano et al, 2001; Werneburg, 2013a). Fossil Synapsida were predators and herbivores and their temporal opening might have supported the progressing development of stronger jaw musculature for biting (Figure 1-II) (Kemp, 2005; Angielczyck and Kammerer, 2018). Later on, resulted in the secondary evolution of diverse feeding modes, correlated to tooth morphology, for example, illustrating that the morphofunctional category of a temporal opening is not a general proxy for feeding ecology
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