IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Garcia-Perea, R. | |
| Patterns of Postnatal Development in Skulls of Lynxes, Genus Lynx (Mammalia: Carnivora) | |
| 1996 Journal of Morphology (229): 241-254 | |
Studies on ossification patterns and other ontogenetic events associated with postnatal cranial growth of wild felids are scarce. An analysis of developmental processes undergone by several cranial structures (presphenoidal and sphenooccipital synchondroses, temporal and sagittal crests, and deciduos and permanent teeth) during postnatal growth has been conducted on a sample of 336 specimens belonging to the four Recent species of lynxes (_Lynx pardinus_,_ Lynx lynx_, _Lynx rufus_, and_ Lynx canadensis_). Age has been estimated based on tooth replacement, skull size, and by counting the annual lines of cementum growth. Comparison of the results obtained for each of the four species reveal (1) a single pattern for both tooth replacement and ossification of the sphenooccipital synchondrosis, (2) two ossification patterns for the presphenoidal synchondrosis, (3) a common pattern for development of temporal ridges and sagittal crest showing different degrees of morphological expression, and (4) evidence suggesting the involvement of a heterochronic process, neoteny, in the morphological differentiation of several populations and species of the genus Lynx. These data also support the hypothesis that processes involved in the replacement of carnassials are based on functional requirements. |
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