Sexual selection promotes giraffoid head-neck evolution and ecological adaptation

SQ Wang, J Ye, J Meng, C Li, L Costeur, B Mennecart… - Science, 2022 - science.org
The long neck of the giraffe has been held as a classic example of adaptive evolution since
Darwin's time. Here we report on an unusual fossil giraffoid, Discokeryx xiezhi, from the early …

At the root of the mammalian mind: The sensory organs, brain and behavior of pre-mammalian synapsids

J Benoit, KN Dollman, RMH Smith… - Progress in Brain Research, 2023 - Elsevier
All modern mammals are descendants of the paraphyletic non-mammaliaform Synapsida,
colloquially referred to as the “mammal-like reptiles.” It has long been assumed that these …

Synchrotron scanning sheds new light on Lumkuia fuzzi (Therapsida, Cynodontia) from the Middle Triassic of South Africa and its phylogenetic placement

J Benoit, M Nxumalo, LA Norton, V Fernandez… - Journal of African Earth …, 2022 - Elsevier
Lumkuia fuzzi is a small non-mammalian cynodont from the Middle Triassic of South Africa. It
has traditionally been phylogenetically identified as a basal Probainognathia, but some …

Endocranial anatomy of the early prozostrodonts (Eucynodontia: Probainognathia) and the neurosensory evolution in mammal forerunners

L Kerber, L Roese‐Miron, JM Bubadué… - The Anatomical …, 2024 - Wiley Online Library
Prozostrodon brasiliensis and Therioherpeton cargnini are non‐mammaliaform cynodonts
that lived~ 233 million years ago (late Carnian, Late Triassic) in western Gondwana. They …

Non-mammalian synapsids: the deep roots of the mammalian family tree

KD Angielczyk, CF Kammerer - Mammalian evolution, diversity and …, 2018 - degruyter.com
Mammals are arguably the most conspicuous tetrapods in the modern biota. Although there
are fewer extant mammal species (~ 5,500) than birds (~ 10,000) or squamates (~ 10,000) …

A test of the lateral semicircular canal correlation to head posture, diet and other biological traits in “ungulate” mammals

J Benoit, LJ Legendre, AA Farke, JM Neenan… - Scientific Reports, 2020 - nature.com
For over a century, researchers have assumed that the plane of the lateral semicircular
canal of the inner ear lies parallel to the horizon when the head is at rest, and used this …

[HTML][HTML] The evolution of the maxillary canal in Probainognathia (Cynodontia, Synapsida): reassessment of the homology of the infraorbital foramen in mammalian …

J Benoit, I Ruf, JA Miyamae, V Fernandez… - Journal of Mammalian …, 2020 - Springer
In mammals, the infraorbital canal provides a passage for the infraorbital ramus of the
maxillary branch of the trigeminal nerve. The infraorbital nerve ensures tactile sensitivity of …

Cranial anatomy of the early cynodont Galesaurus planiceps and the origin of mammalian endocranial characters

LC Pusch, CF Kammerer, J Fröbisch - Journal of Anatomy, 2019 - Wiley Online Library
The cranial anatomy of the early non‐mammalian cynodont Galesaurus planiceps from the
South African Karoo Basin is redescribed on the basis of a computed tomographic …

[HTML][HTML] The postcranial anatomy of Gorgonops torvus (Synapsida, Gorgonopsia) from the late Permian of South Africa

EM Bendel, CF Kammerer, RMH Smith, J Fröbisch - PeerJ, 2023 - peerj.com
Gorgonopsians are among the most recognizable groups of synapsids from the Permian
period and have an extensive but mostly cranial fossil record. By contrast, relatively little is …

Evolution of facial innervation in anomodont therapsids (Synapsida): Insights from X‐ray computerized microtomography

J Benoit, KD Angielczyk, JA Miyamae… - Journal of …, 2018 - Wiley Online Library
Anomodontia was the most successful herbivorous clade of the mammalian stem lineage
(non‐mammalian synapsids) during the late Permian and Early Triassic. Among …