Revisiting the calvarial homology in amniotes

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26711023
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (A)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Biodiversity/Systematics
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Koyabu Daisuke 東京大学, 総合研究博物館, 特任助教 (60712510)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 頭蓋骨 / 相同性 / 進化

Outline of Final Research Achievements

During the origin of the mammals from the ancestral mammal-like reptile, the number of the skull elements decreased from about 40 to 28. More than ten bones have been regarded to be completely lost in the mammalian linage. However, recent studies pointed out the possibility that some bones that were thought to be lost are still present in extant mammals. We hypothesized that the bones that were thought to be lost are still present in extant mammals, particularly during fetal period, and that subsequent fusions obscures the presence of some bones. In this project, we addressed this hypothesis through combing paleontology and developmental biology.

Free Research Field

進化形態学