[null, {"document_url": "https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10914-013-9228-3", "unformatted_src": "https://media.springernature.com/w306/springer-static/cover/journal/10914/20/3.jpg", "src": "https://media.springernature.com/w306/springer-static/cover/journal/10914/20/3.jpg"}, null]

September 2013, Volume 20, Issue 3, pp 191–198 | Cite as

The Bony Labyrinth in Diprotodontian Marsupial Mammals: Diversity in Extant and Extinct Forms and Relationships with Size and Phylogeny



The shape of the bony labyrinth of the inner ear was quantified using geometric morphometrics in a sample of 16 species of living marsupial diprotodontians, the extinct Diprotodon and Thylacoleo, and four outgroups. X-ray micro-computed tomography (μCT) and conventional computed tomography (CT) were used to acquire 3D data. The analyses of 22 landmarks revealed a strong body-mass related allometric pattern. A discriminant analysis on allometry-free labyrinthine shape served to evaluate the phylogenetic signal portion of the labyrinth for Macropodiformes, Phalangeroidea, Petauroidea, and Vombatiformes. The inner shape of Thylacoleo is consistent with its phylogenetic placement as a vombatiform.


Inner ear Diprotodontia Diprotodon Thylacoleo Geometric morphometrics Allometry



The Swiss National Science Foundation supported M. R. Sánchez-Villagra (grant No. 31003A-133032/1). We thank I. Horovitz (Los Angeles) for comments and language corrections. We thank the ANR Palasiafrica (ANR-08-JCJC-0017) and Laurent Marivaux for financial support. We express our gratitude to M. Ponce de León and C. Zollikofer (Anthropological Institute and Museum Zürich) and to the Montpellier RIO Imaging (MRI) platform, and R. Harper (Lyell McEwin Hospital, Adelaide) for giving access to scanning facilities. We thank C. Bens from the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (Paris), L. Costeur from the Naturhistorisches Museum Basel, S. Jiquel from the ISE-M, M.-A. Binnie (South Australian Museum), and A. Camens (Flinders University, Adelaide), who kindly permitted access to the scanned specimens.






Alloing-Séguier, L., Sánchez-Villagra, M.R., Lee, M.S.Y. et al. J Mammal Evol (2013) 20: 191. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-013-9228-3



