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The Ear Region of the Pen-tailed Treeshrew, Ptilocercus lowii Gray, 1848 (Placentalia, Scandentia, Ptilocercidae)

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Abstract

The ear region of the pen-tailed treeshrew, Ptilocercus lowii Gray, 1848 (Scandentia, Ptilocercidae), is described and illustrated in detail based on five museum specimens from the National Museum of Natural History, two with the auditory bulla removed exposing the intratympanic surfaces. Soft tissues (arteries, veins, nerves, and muscles) are reconstructed onto the adult skulls based on published reports of these elements in a fetal P. lowii. Comparisons are made with four specimens of the common treeshrew, the tupaiid Tupaia glis (Diard, 1820), from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, including one with the auditory bulla removed.

The mammalian ear region widely is regarded to be a rich source of characters for phylogenetic analysis. This study supports this view by identifying numerous features that are shared between the two treeshrews as well as numerous features that distinguish them. Several features used in the past to distinguish tupaiid treeshrews from primates are found to differ between P. lowii and T. glis: the composition of the bony tubes for the internal carotid artery and the composition of the intrabullar septa and spaces. Despite the compositional differences, it seems likely that the bony carotid tubes and intrabullar septa and spaces shared by P. lowii and T. glis occurred in their common ancestor. Evaluating the utility of these and other ear region features awaits future phylogenetic analysis of treeshrews and related Euarchontoglires.

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Acknowledgments

This report was inspired by the exquisite artistry of two extraordinary illustrators. The project initiated years ago with Claire Vanderslice, who made the pencil drawings of USNM 488058 and 311313 in Figs. 1 and 4, and the line drawings of USNM 488058 and 311313 in Figs. 2 and 3a. Paul Bowden of Carnegie Museum of Natural History made amendments to these and completed all the remaining illustrations. For access to specimens, I am extremely grateful to the Division of Mammals of the National Museum of Natural History; without their patience in extending loans to me this project would never have been completed. For observations on several anatomical issues that improved the manuscript, I thank Mary Silcox. Comments by two anonymous reviewers greatly improved the final product. This work was supported by Carnegie Museum of Natural History and National Science Foundation ATOL grant 0629959.

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  1. Section of Mammals, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, 5800 Baum Boulevard, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, USA

    John R. Wible

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Wible, J.R. The Ear Region of the Pen-tailed Treeshrew, Ptilocercus lowii Gray, 1848 (Placentalia, Scandentia, Ptilocercidae). J Mammal Evol 16, 199–233 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-009-9116-z

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