Cranial bosses of choerosaurus dejageri (therapsida, therocephalia): Earliest evidence of cranial display structures in eutheriodonts.

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dc.citation.doi10.1371/journal.pone.0161457en_ZA
dc.citation.issue8en_ZA
dc.contributor.authorBenoit, J.
dc.contributor.authorManger, P.R.
dc.contributor.authorFernandez, V.
dc.contributor.authorRubidge, B.S.
dc.date.accessioned2016-11-10T13:01:31Z
dc.date.available2016-11-10T13:01:31Z
dc.date.issued2016-08
dc.description.abstractChoerosaurus dejageri, a non-mammalian eutheriodont therapsid from the South African late Permian (∼259 Ma), has conspicuous hemispheric cranial bosses on the maxilla and the mandible. These bosses, the earliest of this nature in a eutheriodont, potentially make C. dejageri a key species for understanding the evolutionary origins of sexually selective behaviours (intraspecific competition, ritualized sexual and intimidation displays) associated with cranial outgrowths at the root of the clade that eventually led to extant mammals. Comparison with the tapinocephalid dinocephalian Moschops capensis, a therapsid in which head butting is strongly supported, shows that the delicate structure of the cranial bosses and the gracile structure of the skull of Choerosaurus would be more suitable for display and low energy combat than vigorous head butting. Thus, despite the fact that Choerosaurus is represented by only one skull (which makes it impossible to address the question of sexual dimorphism), its cranial bosses are better interpreted as structures involved in intraspecific selection, i.e. low-energy fighting or display. Display structures, such as enlarged canines and cranial bosses, are widespread among basal therapsid clades and are also present in the putative basal therapsid Tetraceratops insignis. This suggests that sexual selection may have played a more important role in the distant origin and evolution of mammals earlier than previously thought. Sexual selection may explain the subsequent independent evolution of cranial outgrowths and pachyostosis in different therapsid lineages (Biarmosuchia, Dinocephalia, Gorgonopsia and Dicynodontia).en_ZA
dc.description.librarianSP2016en_ZA
dc.description.sponsorshipThis research was conducted with financial support from the Palaeontological Scientific Trust (PAST) and its scatterlings projects; the NRF African Origins Platform; the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences; and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility grant.en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationBenoit, J. et al. 2016. Cranial bosses of choerosaurus dejageri (therapsida, therocephalia): Earliest evidence of cranial display structures in eutheriodonts. PLoS ONE 11(8):e0161457en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn1932-6203
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10539/21440
dc.journal.titlePLoS ONEen_ZA
dc.journal.volume11en_ZA
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherPublic Library of Scienceen_ZA
dc.rights© 2016 Benoit et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.en_ZA
dc.subjectSOUTH-AFRICAen_ZA
dc.subjectBURNETIAMORPH THERAPSIDAen_ZA
dc.subjectSEXUAL SELECTIONen_ZA
dc.subjectTherapsidaen_ZA
dc.subjectANATOMYen_ZA
dc.subjectPermian Perioden_ZA
dc.subjectEvolutionen_ZA
dc.subjectSkullen_ZA
dc.subjectCOLLAGEN ARRAYSen_ZA
dc.subjectBIARMOSUCHIAen_ZA
dc.subjectMORPHOLOGYen_ZA
dc.subjectPATTERNSen_ZA
dc.subjectRECONSTRUCTIONen_ZA
dc.titleCranial bosses of choerosaurus dejageri (therapsida, therocephalia): Earliest evidence of cranial display structures in eutheriodonts.en_ZA
dc.typeArticleen_ZA
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