Brazilian cynodont fossils have shed light on early mammalian evolution, revealing earlier and independent development of key features like the jaw and middle ear.
The discovery of new cynodont fossils from southern Brazil, made by a team of paleontologists led by the University of Bristol, has transformed our understanding of mammalian evolution.
These fossils, belonging to the mammal-precursor species Brasilodon quadrangularis and Riograndia guaibensis, offer critical insights into the development of the mammalian jaw and middle ear, revealing evolutionary experiments that occurred millions of years earlier than previously believed.
Mammals stand out among vertebrates for their distinct jaw structure and the presence of three middle ear bones. This transition from earlier vertebrates, which had a single middle ear bone, has long fascinated scientists. The new study explores how mammal ancestors, known as cynodonts, evolved these features over time.
Technological Advances in Paleontology
Using CT scanning, researchers were able to digitally reconstruct the jaw joint of these cynodonts for the first time. The researchers uncovered a ‘mammalian-style’ contact between the skull and the lower jaw in Riograndia guaibensis, a cynodont species that lived 17 million years before the previously oldest known example of this structure, but did not find one in Brasilodon quadrangularis, a species more closely related to mammals. This indicates that the defining mammalian jaw feature evolved multiple times in different groups of cynodonts, earlier than expected.
These findings suggest that mammalian ancestors experimented with different jaw functions, leading to the evolution of ‘mammalian’ traits independently in various lineages. The early evolution of mammals, it turns out, was far more complex and varied than previously understood.
Insights from New Discoveries
Lead author James Rawson based in Bristol’s School of Earth Sciences explained: “The acquisition of the mammalian jaw contact was a key moment in mammal evolution.
“What these new Brazilian fossils have shown is that different cynodont groups were experimenting with various jaw joint types, and that some features once considered uniquely mammalian evolved numerous times in other lineages as well.”
This discovery has broad implications for the understanding of the early stages of mammal evolution, illustrating that features such as the mammalian jaw joint and middle ear bones evolved in a patchwork, or mosaic, fashion across different cynodont groups.
Future Prospects in Cynodont Research
Dr. Agustín Martinelli, from the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Natural of Buenos Aires, stated: “Over the last years, these tiny fossil species from Brazil have brought marvelous information that enriches our knowledge about the origin and evolution of mammalian features. We are just in the beginning and our multi-national collaborations will bring more news soon.”
The research team is eager to further investigate the South American fossil record, which has proven to be a rich source of new information on mammalian evolution.
Professor Marina Soares of the Museu Nacional, Brazil, stated: “Nowhere else in the world has such a diverse array of cynodont forms, closely related to the earliest mammals.”
By integrating these findings with existing data, the scientists hope to deepen their understanding of how early jaw joints functioned and contributed to the development of the mammalian form.
James added: “The study opens new doors for paleontological research, as these fossils provide invaluable evidence of the complex and varied evolutionary experiments that ultimately gave rise to modern mammals.”
Reference: “Brazilian fossils reveal homoplasy in the oldest mammalian jaw joint” by James R. G. Rawson, Agustín G. Martinelli, Pamela G. Gill, Marina B. Soares, Cesar L. Schultz and Emily J. Rayfield, 25 September 2024, Nature.
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07971-3
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2 Comments
It seem like Brasilodon the temporal bone is not fully the periotic bone no epiotic bone fusion.it was like protosuchian and sphenosuchian the periotic bone was not fully .the hearing was not like birds and mammal and modern crocodilian .modern crocodilian can only understand one 1 sound but bird and mammal can understand many sound .dinosaur has ears like the primitive reptile tuatara .spinosauridae was only won with pseudorotunda that why most advance dinosaur modern crocodilian has it but they say spinosauridae did not have pneumatic sinus .
Sinus mean fossa fenestra pneumatic and hole.on spinosauridae pseudorotunda this mean there is a bone that it was advance so it surround the inner ears .protosuchian has pneumatic sinus like bird and modern crocodilian .dinosaur did not have pseudorotunda so was allways was primitive even has palate teeth fish and tuatara teeth .even pseudosuchus does not have palate teeth