New systematic insights about plio-pleistocene moles from poland

The generic attribution of the Plio-Pleistocene Polish moles ?Neurotrichus polonicus and ?Neurotrichus skoczeni has been questioned several times in the past. The fossil material belonging to ?Neurotrichus polonicus and ?Neurotrichus skoczeni is re-evaluated here and a new diagnosis is provided on the basis of qualitative considerations. In addition, a Geometric Morphometric analysis of the humerus has been performed including both extant and extinct Neurotrichini and Urotrichini taxa for comparison. Our results proved the unique morphology of the Polish material suggesting a distinct taxonomic state. The morphological variations evidenced by the humeral shape analysis agree with the observed qualitative differences and support a new generic allocation. The new genus Rzebikia gen. nov. is proposed for all the material previoulsly ascribed to ?Neurotrichus polonicus and ?Neurotrichus skoczeni

A combination of tryptophan, Satureja montana, Tribulus terrestris, Phyllanthus emblica extracts is able to improve sexual quality of life in patient with premature ejaculation

Objective: The management of patient affected by premature ejaculation (PE) is nowadays not highly satisfactory. Here, we aimed to evaluate the tolerability and efficacy of a combination of tryptophan, Satureja montana, Tribulus terrestris, Phyllanthus emblica extracts in order to improve sexual quality of life in patients with premature ejaculation. Materials and methods: All patients attending to 5 urological centers from January 2015 to March 2015, due to premature ejaculation were enrolled in this study. At the enrolment visit, all subjects underwent self-administered IIEF-5, Male Sexual Health Questionnaire-Ejaculation Disorder (MSHQ-EjD), PEDT and IELTS (calculated as mean from that perceived by partner and that perceived by patient) and underwent urological visit and laboratory examinations. All patients received one tablet per day of a combination of tryptophan, Satureja montana, Tribulus terrestris, Phyllanthus emblica extracts for 3 months (Group A). After 3 months all patients underwent follow-up visit with the same investigations that have been carried out in the enrolment visit. The results were compared with a cohort of patients enrolled in the same period in another urological center and considered as a control group (Group B). All patients in the control group underwent counseling and sexual behavioral treatment without any pharmacological compound. Results: At the follow-up analysis, significant changes in terms of IELT in the Group A (mean difference: 31.90; p < 0.05) at 3 months and versus Group B at the intergroup analysis (mean difference: 30.30; p < 0.05) were reported. In the group A, significant differences from baseline to last follow-up were observed relative to IIEF-5 (mean difference: 1.04; p < 0.05), PEDT (mean difference: -2.57; p < 0.05) and FSH (mean difference: -16.46; p < 0.05). Conclusion: In conclusion, patients affected by PE may significantly benefit from oral therapy with a combination of tryptophan, Satureja montana, Tribulus terrestris, Phyllanthus emblica extracts in terms of IELT and PEDT scores improvement

New systematic insights about Plio-Pleistocene moles from Poland

The generic attribution of the Plio-Pleistocene Polish moles ?Neurotrichus polonicus and ?Neurotrichus skoczeni has been questioned several times in the past. The fossil material belonging to ?Neurotrichus polonicus and ?Neurotrichus skoczeni is re-evaluated here and a new diagnosis is provided on the basis of qualitative considerations. In addition, a Geometric Morphometric analysis of the humerus has been performed including both extant and extinct Neurotrichini and Urotrichini taxa for comparison. Our results proved the unique morphology of the Polish material suggesting a distinct taxonomic state. The morphological variations evidenced by the humeral shape analysis agree with the observed qualitative differences and support a new generic allocation. The new genus Rzebikia gen. nov. is proposed for all the material previoulsly ascribed to ?Neurotrichus polonicus and ?Neurotrichus skoczeni

Unexpectedly uneven distribution of functional trade-offs explains cranial morphological diversity in carnivores

Functional trade-offs can affect patterns of morphological and ecological evolution as well as the magnitude of morphological changes through evolutionary time. Using morpho-functional landscape modelling on the cranium of 132 carnivore species, we focused on the macroevolutionary effects of the trade-off between bite force and bite velocity. Here, we show that rates of evolution in form (morphology) are decoupled from rates of evolution in function. Further, we found theoretical morphologies optimising for velocity to be more diverse, while a much smaller phenotypic space was occupied by shapes optimising force. This pattern of differential representation of different functions in theoretical morphological space was highly correlated with patterns of actual morphological disparity. We hypothesise that many-to-one mapping of cranium shape on function may prevent the detection of direct relationships between form and function. As comparatively only few morphologies optimise bite force, species optimising this function may be less abundant because they are less likely to evolve. This, in turn, may explain why certain clades are less variable than others. Given the ubiquity of functional trade-offs in biological systems, these patterns may be general and may help to explain the unevenness of morphological and functional diversity across the tree of life

Decoupling Functional and Morphological Convergence, the Study Case of Fossorial Mammalia

Morphological similarity between biological structures in phylogenetically distant species is usually regarded as evidence of convergent evolution. Yet, phenotypic similarity is not always a sign of natural selection acting on a particular trait, therefore adaptation to similar conditions may fail to generate convergent lineages. Herein we tested whether convergent evolution occurred in the humerus of fossorial mammals, one of the most derived biological structures among mammals. Clades adapting to digging kinematics possess unusual, by mammalian standards, humeral shapes. The application of a new, computationally fast morphological test revealed a single significant instance of convergence pertaining to the Japanese fossorial moles (Mogera) and the North-American fossorial moles (Scalopini). Yet, the pattern only manifests when trade-off performance data (derived from finite element analysis) are added to shape data. This result indicates that fossorial mammals have found multiple solutions to the same adaptive challenge, independently moving around multiple adaptive peaks. This study suggests the importance of accounting for functional trade-off measures when studying morpho-functional convergence. We revealed that fossorial mammals, a classic example of convergent evolution, evolved multiple strategies to exploit the subterranean ecotope, characterized by different functional trade-offs rather than converging toward a single adaptive optimum

Trapped in the morphospace: The relationship between morphological integration and functional performance

The evolution of complex morphological structures can be characterized by the interplay between different anatomical regions evolving under functional integration in response to shared selective pressures. Using the highly derived humeral morphology of talpid moles as a model, here we test whether functional performance is linked to increased levels of evolutionary integration between humerus subunits and, if so, what the strength is of the relationship. Combining two-dimensional geometric morphometrics, phylogenetic comparative methods, and functional landscape modeling, we demonstrate that the high biomechanical performance of subterranean moles' humeri is coupled with elevated levels of integration, whereas taxa with low-performance values show intermediate or low integration. Theoretical morphs occurring in high-performance areas of the functional landscape are not occupied by any species, and show a marked drop in covariation levels, suggesting the existence of a strong relationship between integration and performance in the evolution of talpid moles' humeri. We argue that the relative temporal invariance of the subterranean environment may have contributed to stabilize humeral morphology, trapping subterranean moles in a narrow region of the landscape and impeding any attempt to reposition on a new ascending slope

From Smart Apes to Human Brain Boxes. A Uniquely Derived Brain Shape in Late Hominins Clade

Modern humans have larger and more globular brains when compared to other primates. Such anatomical features are further reflected in the possession of a moderately asymmetrical brain with the two hemispheres apparently rotated counterclockwise and slid anteroposteriorly on one another, in what is traditionally described as the Yakovlevian torque. Developmental disturbance in human brain asymmetry, or lack thereof, has been linked to several cognitive disorders including schizophrenia and depression. More importantly, the presence of the Yakovlevian torque is often advocated as the exterior manifestation of our unparalleled cognitive abilities. Consequently, studies of brain size and asymmetry in our own lineage indirectly address the question of what, and when, made us humans, trying to trace the emergence of brain asymmetry and expansion of cortical areas back in our Homo antecedents. Here, we tackle this same issue by studying the evolution of human brain size, shape, and asymmetry on a phylogenetic tree including 19 apes and Homo species, inclusive of our fellow ancestors. We found that a significant positive shift in the rate of brain shape evolution pertains to the clade including modern humans, Neanderthals, and Homo heidelbergensis. Although the Yakovlevian torque is well evident in these species and levels of brain asymmetry are correlated to changes in brain shape, further early Homo species possess the torque. Even though a strong allometric component is present in hominoid brain shape variability, this component seems unrelated to asymmetry and to the rate shift we recorded. These results suggest that changes in brain size and asymmetry were not the sole factors behind the fast evolution of brain shape in the most recent Homo species. The emergence of handedness and early manifestations of cultural modernity in the archeological record nicely coincide with the same three species sharing the largest and most rapidly evolving brains among all hominoids

Decoupling Functional and Morphological Convergence, the Study Case of Fossorial Mammalia

Morphological similarity between biological structures in phylogenetically distant species is usually regarded as evidence of convergent evolution. Yet, phenotypic similarity is not always a sign of natural selection acting on a particular trait, therefore adaptation to similar conditions may fail to generate convergent lineages. Herein we tested whether convergent evolution occurred in the humerus of fossorial mammals, one of the most derived biological structures among mammals. Clades adapting to digging kinematics possess unusual, by mammalian standards, humeral shapes. The application of a new, computationally fast morphological test revealed a single significant instance of convergence pertaining to the Japanese fossorial moles (Mogera) and the North-American fossorial moles (Scalopini). Yet, the pattern only manifests when trade-off performance data (derived from finite element analysis) are added to shape data. This result indicates that fossorial mammals have found multiple solutions to the same adaptive challenge, independently moving around multiple adaptive peaks. This study suggests the importance of accounting for functional trade-off measures when studying morpho-functional convergence. We revealed that fossorial mammals, a classic example of convergent evolution, evolved multiple strategies to exploit the subterranean ecotope, characterized by different functional trade-offs rather than converging toward a single adaptive optimum

Reassessing the faunal assemblages of the late pleistocene stratified karst filling from avetrana (Apulia, Southern Italy): The BED 8, palaeoenvironment and biochronology

The late Quaternary vertebrate deposit of the stratified karst filling from Avetrana (Apulia, Italy) was the subject of an intensive excavation campaign in 2003, followed by numerous subsequent investigations and collections of fossil remains. In this work, the biochronological implications and the palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the area in the Late Pleistocene are updat-ed and improved based on the more recent observations (2012-2013). In particular, the faunal assemblage found in the uppermost stratum (bed 8) of the fossiliferous deposit is analysed where the proportion of wolf remains increases sharply against the underly-ing layers. A synthesis and a recapitulation of the vertebrate assemblages recovered in the entire stratified karst filling are also given.New observations on the preservation of the bone remains and population analyses of representative mammal species (Canis lupus, Bos primigenius, Cervus elaphus, Dama dama and Sus scrofa) show that bed 8 displays features indicating its origination in sedimentary, climatic and environmental conditions quite different from those of underlying beds. Up to bed 7, the stratified karst filling and its faunal assemblages were generated by a succession of catastrophic mass mortality events in a very short time alter-nated with moments of quiet deposition, during the early Late Pleistocene (MIS 5e). Instead, bed 8 deposited over a longer timespan, probably to be placed between the beginning of last glacial period and early MIS 3, when a puddle of water or a pond was likely at the top of the residual cavity filling.Lithic artefacts recovered in bed 8 and in bed 6 only testifies the attendance of Neanderthal humans in the surrounding of Avetra-na

Relationship between foramen magnum position and locomotion in extant and extinct hominoids

International audienceFrom the Miocene Sahelanthropus tchadensis to Pleistocene Homo sapiens, hominins are characterized by a derived anterior position of the foramen magnum relative to basicranial structures. It has been previously suggested that the anterior position of the foramen magnum in hominins is related to bipedal locomotor behavior. Yet, the functional relationship between foramen magnum position and bipedal locomotion remains unclear. Recent studies, using ratios based on cranial linear measurements, have found a link between the anterior position of the foramen magnum and bipedalism in several mammalian clades: marsupials, rodents, and primates. In the present study, we compute these ratios in a sample including a more comprehensive dataset of extant hominoids and fossil hominins. First, we verify if the values of ratios can distinguish extant humans from apes. Then, we test whether extinct hominins can be distinguished from non-bipedal extant hominoids. Finally, we assess if the studied ratios are effective predictors of bipedal behavior by testing if they mainly relate to variation in foramen magnum position rather than changes in other cranial structures. Our results confirm that the ratios discriminate between extant bipeds and non-bipeds. However, the only ratio clearly discriminating between fossil hominins and other extant apes is that which only includes basicranial structures. We show that a large proportion of the interspecific variation in the other ratios relates to changes in facial, rather than basicranial, structures. In this context, we advocate the use of measurements based only on basicranial structures when assessing the relationship between foramen magnum position and bipedalism in future studies