Open Access
How to translate text using browser tools
1 December 2010 Morphological adaptations of incisors in the subterranean Gansu zokor, Myospalax cansus (Rodentia, Spalacidae)
Gonghua Lin, Jiuxiang Xie, Haixin Ci, Lizhou Tang, Jianping Su, Tongzuo Zhang
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

The incisor morphology of rodents varies a good deal among different genera and each structure may have a special evolutionary significance. Some basic and lateral profile measurements of upper and lower incisors which may reflect morphological adaptations of the Gansu zokor (Myospalax cansus, a typical subterranean rodent in northern Asia) and the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus, a typical aboveground rodent that has close body size to the Gansu zokor) were analyzed. GIS (Geographic Information System) software and nonlinear regression were used to analyze incisor lateral profile, allowing the incisors to be viewed as circular arcs with a high degree of accuracy. The results show that: i) zokors have more robust (i.e. larger anteroposterior diameter and transverse diameter values), heavier and longer upper as well as lower incisors than rats; ii) zokors show a significantly higher level of sexual dimorphism (male dominant) than rats on the incisor morphology (including basic and lateral profile measurements) and iii) the upper incisor is heavier than lower incisor in rats, as opposed to zokors, in which the lower incisor is heavier than the upper incisor, indicating that more resources must have been allocated to lower incisors of zokors.

Gonghua Lin, Jiuxiang Xie, Haixin Ci, Lizhou Tang, Jianping Su, and Tongzuo Zhang "Morphological adaptations of incisors in the subterranean Gansu zokor, Myospalax cansus (Rodentia, Spalacidae)," Folia Zoologica 59(4), 295-300, (1 December 2010). https://doi.org/10.25225/fozo.v59.i4.a4.2010
Received: 21 December 2009; Accepted: 1 March 2010; Published: 1 December 2010
KEYWORDS
Adaptation
GIS software
incisor morphology
subterranean rodent
Back to Top