Durante el III Iberian Symposium on Geometric Morphometrics, celebrado en Girona los días 9 y 10 de junio, Ane de Celis presentó un nuevo estudio morfogeométrico sobre el área palatal en eusuquios. A pesar de la importancia del paladar secundario en el establecimiento y diagnosis de los cocodrilos modernos (Eusuchia), los estudios morfogeométricos previos se han centrado en analizar el área dorsal del cráneo de especies de cocodrilo actual. Por ello, este estudio pretendía analizar los patrones de variabilidad morfológica y disparidad en cinco grandes linajes de cocodrilos eusuquios, incluyendo fósiles (Hylaeochampsidae, Allodaposuchidae, Gavialidae, Alligatoridae, Crocodylidae). A continuación puede consultarse el resumen del trabajo:
A progressive developmental process of the secondary palate is one of the most significant criteria in the interpretation of the evolutionary history of Crocodyliformes. Besides, the palate plays a key-role in the mechanical performance of the skull of more derived crocodyliforms. As geometric morphometric studies on modern crocodile skulls have focused on the dorsum, less attention has been paid to their ventral structures. Hence, an approach is proposed for exploring the poorly known patterns of morphological variation and disparity in the palate region of Eusuchia. In order to achieve this objectives 86 skulls were examined, comprising most of the extant species of crocodiles and several fossils, including non-Crocodylia eusuchians (Hylaeochampsidae and Allodaposuchidae). A new set of 20 landmarks was developed for the right half of the skull and was divided in two parts, the rostrum and postrostrum, to examine them individually. Principal Component Analyses (PCA) were performed to inspect patterns of morphological variability, and disparity analyses were conducted to outline the distribution of disparity among the principal eusuchian lineages. The results of these PCA show that the relative width and length of the snout are the main sources of morphological variability, but other structures as the incisive foramen, suborbital fenestrae or the internal nares are also highly variable. Alligatoridae, Crocodylidae, Gavialidae and Hylaeochampsidae form distinct groups in these PCA, reflecting different palatal morphologies. Furthermore, Allodaposuchidae palatal shape overlaps with that of Alligatoridae or Crocodylidae. The disparity analyses depicts that hylaeochampsids and gharials have the most disparate morphologies within Eusuchia.
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