Selection for Mechanical Advantage Underlies Multiple Cranial Optima in New World Leaf-Nosed Bats

Dumont, Elizabeth R.; Samadevam, Krishna; Grosse, Ian R.; Warsi, Omar; Baird, Brandon O.; Dávalos, Liliana M.

doi:10.1111/evo.12358

Cited by 93 publications

(129 citation statements)

References 83 publications

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“…Mainland short‐faced bats exert greater bite force and consume harder fruits than all other phyllostomids (Dumont et al., ; Madrid‐Lopez, Castro‐Luna, & Galindo‐Gonzalez, ; Santana & Dumont, ; Santana et al., ). Although similar observational analyses on the islands have been lacking, the mechanical advantage—the efficiency in transfer of force from the muscles through the jaws to the food—of insular short‐faced bats is similar to that of mainland species (Dumont et al., ). Furthermore, short‐faced bats as a group have higher mechanical advantage than all other stenodermatines, the result of directional selection to maximize this trait (Dumont et al., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Compared to all extant short‐faced bats, Cubanycteris conserves a stout and relatively long skull (at 27.5–27.8 mm it is as long as that of Artibeus jamaicensis ), with a longer rostrum. As palate width and length are the main determinants of mechanical advantage (Dumont et al., ), the longer rostrum potentially results in lower mechanical advantage compared to its close relatives. Other things being equal, lower mechanical advantage results in lower bite force (Dumont et al., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Out of the Antilles: Fossil phylogenies support reverse colonization of bats to South America

Tavares

Warsi

Balseiro

et al. 2018

Journal of Biogeography

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Aim Previous phylogenies of extant short‐faced bats (Chiroptera: Stenodermatina) supported either two colonization events from the mainland to the Antilles, or reverse colonization, but lacked both fossil data and statistical modelling of biogeography. Recent multi‐locus phylogenies of noctilionoid bats and likelihood modelling of ancestral ranges support a continental origin for the clade. We include all known extinct and extant stenodermatina species and apply statistical modelling to test competing biogeographical hypotheses. Location The Neotropics, including the Antilles. Methods We combined mitochondrial and nuclear sequences with 302 new morphological characters to infer phylogenies. Bayesian tip‐dating analyses applied codon models to protein‐coding genes, with relaxed molecular clocks fitting a compound Poisson process. The combined maximum clade credibility tree was used in comparisons of alternative biogeographical models. Results The new phylogenies support the fossil Cubanycteris silvai as sister to all extant species of short‐faced bats. Among Artibeus (the sister group to short‐faced bats), the Antillean fossil A. anthonyi has distinctive characters and is nested within the subgenus Artibeus. The common ancestor of all short‐faced bats is inferred to be Antillean, as a mainland origin is unlikely. Founder‐event speciation is the most probable process explaining the distribution of these highly divergent fossil lineages. Main conclusions Dated, character‐based phylogenies of fossil species are indispensable for biogeographical inference: without fossils, biogeographical analyses find a mainland origin for short‐faced bats. The rate of founder speciation in this clade is twice as high as the estimate from noctilionoids in general, highlighting the role of founder events in the diversification of island taxa. Although rare, reverse colonization contributes key species to continental communities. Short‐faced bats, including Cubanycteris, share biomechanical adaptations for a strong bite conferring access to harder figs. We hypothesize these adaptations and characters related to roosting ecology enabled ancestral lineages to successfully establish and diversify on the mainland.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Out of the Antilles: Fossil phylogenies support reverse colonization of bats to South America

Tavares

Warsi

Balseiro

et al. 2018

Journal of Biogeography

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“…Previous work has suggested that bats adapt their crania in favour of mechanical efficiency of biting, whereas adaptation to cranial strength (i.e. low VM stress) is not as strongly selected for [45]. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of gape on the performance of the skull in chisel-tooth digging and scratch digging mole-rats (Rodentia: Bathyergidae)

McIntosh

Cox

2016

R. Soc. open sci.

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The African mole-rats (Bathyergidae) are a family of rodents highly adapted for life underground. Previous research has shown that chisel-tooth digging mole-rats (which use their incisors to dig burrows) are clearly distinguishable from scratch diggers (which only use the forelimbs to tunnel) on the basis of morphology of the skull, and that the differences are linked to the production of high bite forces and wide gapes. We hypothesized that the skull of a chisel-tooth digging mole-rat would perform better at wider gapes than that of a scratch digging mole-rat during incisor biting. To test this hypothesis, we created finite-element models of the cranium of the scratch digging Bathyergus suillus and the chisel-tooth digging Fukomys mechowii, and loaded them to simulate incisor bites at different gapes. Muscle loads were scaled such that the ratio of force to surface area was the same in both models. We measured three performance variables: overall stress across the cranium, mechanical efficiency of biting and degree of deformation across the skull. The Fukomys model had a more efficient incisor bite at all gapes, despite having greater average stress across the skull. In addition, the Fukomys model deformed less at wider gapes, whereas the Bathyergus model deformed less at narrower gapes. These properties of the cranial morphology of Fukomys and Bathyergus are congruent with their respective chisel-tooth and scratch digging behaviours and, all other factors being equal, would enable the more efficient production of bite force at wider gapes in Fukomys. However, in vivo measurements of muscle forces and activation patterns are needed to fully understand the complex biomechanics of tooth digging.

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“…The two primarily nectarivorous phyllostomid subfamilies, Glossophaginae and Lonchophyllinae, share adaptations for acquiring nectar including an elongated rostrum and palate, reduced dentition and elongated tongues [8][9][10]. These phyllostomids compose a phenotypic optimum that prevents eating hard foods such as beetles or figs [11][12][13]. Behavioural and dietary analyses show these bats vary in nectar specialization.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bayesian hierarchical models suggest oldest known plant-visiting bat was omnivorous

et al. 2015

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The earliest record of plant visiting in bats dates to the Middle Miocene of La Venta, the world's most diverse tropical palaeocommunity. Palynephyllum antimaster is known from molars that indicate nectarivory. Skull length, an important indicator of key traits such as body size, bite force and trophic specialization, remains unknown. We developed Bayesian models to infer skull length based on dental measurements. These models account for variation within and between species, variation between clades, and phylogenetic error structure. Models relating skull length to trophic level for nectarivorous bats were then used to infer the diet of the fossil. The skull length estimate for Palynephyllum places it among the larger lonchophylline bats. The inferred diet suggests Palynephyllum fed on nectar and insects, similar to its living relatives. Omnivory has persisted since the mid-Miocene. This is the first study to corroborate with fossil data that highly specialized nectarivory in bats requires an omnivorous transition.

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Selection for Mechanical Advantage Underlies Multiple Cranial Optima in New World Leaf-Nosed Bats

Cited by 93 publications

References 83 publications

Out of the Antilles: Fossil phylogenies support reverse colonization of bats to South America

Out of the Antilles: Fossil phylogenies support reverse colonization of bats to South America

The impact of gape on the performance of the skull in chisel-tooth digging and scratch digging mole-rats (Rodentia: Bathyergidae)

Bayesian hierarchical models suggest oldest known plant-visiting bat was omnivorous

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