Evolution and Classification of the Pocket Gophers of the Subfamily GeomyinaeRussell, Robert J.
Science
Evolution and Classification of the Pocket Gophers of the Subfamily Geomyinae
Russell, Robert J.
Pocket gophers
Parallelism in the molars of later geomyines and the Entoptychinae is
illustrated by the lateral interruption of the enamel investment and
loss of enamel plates and by the omission of the H-pattern stage in
the first and second molars (in _Pliosaccomys_). Resemblance of
dentitions in certain stages of wear in _Pliosaccomys_ and in
entoptychines led some investigators, for instance, Hibbard
(1953:357), to suggest that _Pliosaccomys_ descended from one of the
less specialized entoptychines, possibly _Grangerimus_ but probably
_Gregorymys_. Actually, the highly specialized upper and lower
premolars and third molars of the entoptychines rule them out as
ancestors of the later geomyines. The evolution of entoptychine-like
features in _Pliosaccomys_ is regarded as an example of iteration, a
pattern of parallelism (see Simpson, 1953:248-253) where an
allochronic and independent lineage undergoes the same evolutionary
trend that phyletically characterized an earlier lineage, usually
after the latter has become extinct. In this case, the lineage giving
rise to _Pliosaccomys_ passed through the same phyletic stages in its
evolution in the early Pliocene (and possibly the late Miocene) as did
the entoptychines in the late Oligocene and early Miocene.
Another parallelism by iteration, occurring in the middle and late
Pliocene in both the Thomomyini and Geomyini, is the loss of enamel
from the lateral surfaces of the cheek teeth, and, in the Geomyini
only, the eventual loss of the anterior plate in the lower teeth and
the posterior plate in the upper teeth. Both features were evolved
more than an epoch earlier in the specialized entoptychid genus
_Entoptychus_ of the lower Miocene. In _Entoptychus_, only the
posterior plate of the lower molars and the anterior plate of the
upper molars remained in the final stages of attrition, although a
central enamel fossette, a remnant of the re-entrant fold, remained
throughout life. Iteration is also expressed in the subfamily
Geomyinae by the development of grooving on the upper incisor and the
formation of the basitemporal fossa. A shallow but distinct
basitemporal fossa occurs between the coronoid process and the third
lower molar in the genus _Entoptychus_ and a sulcated upper incisor, a
single shallow groove usually near the median border of the tooth, is
found in the genus _Gregorymys_ of the subfamily Entoptychinae. Both
features are regarded as advanced specializations in the tribe
Geomyini, even though each was evolved in the entoptychines of the
Lower Miocene.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account