The endocast of the insular and extinct Sylviornis neocaledoniae (Aves, Galliformes), reveals insights into its sensory specializations and its twilight ecology
Abstract Sylviornis neocaledoniae (Galliformes, Sylviornithidae), a recently extinct bird of New-Caledonia (Galliformes, Sylviornithidae) is the largest galliform that ever lived and one of the most enigmatic birds in the world. Herein, for the first time, we analyze its neuroanatomy that sheds ligh...
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| Format: | Article |
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Nature Portfolio
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-14829-z |
| _version_ | 1811302349396770816 |
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| author | Ségolène Riamon Jean-Christophe Balouet Jeanne Rolland-Guillard Céline Salaviale Pauline Guenser Jean-Sébastien Steyer Antoine Louchart |
| author_facet | Ségolène Riamon Jean-Christophe Balouet Jeanne Rolland-Guillard Céline Salaviale Pauline Guenser Jean-Sébastien Steyer Antoine Louchart |
| author_sort | Ségolène Riamon |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Sylviornis neocaledoniae (Galliformes, Sylviornithidae), a recently extinct bird of New-Caledonia (Galliformes, Sylviornithidae) is the largest galliform that ever lived and one of the most enigmatic birds in the world. Herein, for the first time, we analyze its neuroanatomy that sheds light on its lifestyle, its brain shape and patterns being correlated to neurological functions. Using morphometric methods, we quantified the endocranial morphology of S. neocaledoniae and compared it with extinct and extant birds in order to obtain ecological and behavioral information about fossil birds. Sylviornis neocaledoniae exhibited reduced optic lobes, a condition also observed in nocturnal taxa endemic to predator-depauperate islands, such as Elephant birds. Functional interpretations suggest that S. neocaledoniae possessed a well-developed somatosensorial system and a good sense of smell in addition to its specialized visual ability for low light conditions, presumably for locating its food. We interpret these results as evidence for a crepuscular lifestyle in S. neocaledoniae. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T07:26:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-08f84137abc646d29c05f4a645431c91 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T07:26:28Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-08f84137abc646d29c05f4a645431c912022-12-22T02:56:27ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222022-12-0112111110.1038/s41598-022-14829-zThe endocast of the insular and extinct Sylviornis neocaledoniae (Aves, Galliformes), reveals insights into its sensory specializations and its twilight ecologySégolène Riamon0Jean-Christophe Balouet1Jeanne Rolland-Guillard2Céline Salaviale3Pauline Guenser4Jean-Sébastien Steyer5Antoine Louchart6Univ Lyon, UCBL, ENSL, UJM, CNRS, LGL-TPEEnvironnement InternationalUniv Lyon, UCBL, ENSL, UJM, CNRS, LGL-TPEUniv Lyon, UCBL, ENSL, UJM, CNRS, LGL-TPEUniversité de Bordeaux, CNRS, EPOC, EPHE, UMR 5805Centre de Recherches en Paléontologie – Paris, UMR 7207, CNRS-MNHN-SU, Muséum National d’Histoire NaturelleUniv Lyon, UCBL, ENSL, UJM, CNRS, LGL-TPEAbstract Sylviornis neocaledoniae (Galliformes, Sylviornithidae), a recently extinct bird of New-Caledonia (Galliformes, Sylviornithidae) is the largest galliform that ever lived and one of the most enigmatic birds in the world. Herein, for the first time, we analyze its neuroanatomy that sheds light on its lifestyle, its brain shape and patterns being correlated to neurological functions. Using morphometric methods, we quantified the endocranial morphology of S. neocaledoniae and compared it with extinct and extant birds in order to obtain ecological and behavioral information about fossil birds. Sylviornis neocaledoniae exhibited reduced optic lobes, a condition also observed in nocturnal taxa endemic to predator-depauperate islands, such as Elephant birds. Functional interpretations suggest that S. neocaledoniae possessed a well-developed somatosensorial system and a good sense of smell in addition to its specialized visual ability for low light conditions, presumably for locating its food. We interpret these results as evidence for a crepuscular lifestyle in S. neocaledoniae.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-14829-z |
| spellingShingle | Ségolène Riamon Jean-Christophe Balouet Jeanne Rolland-Guillard Céline Salaviale Pauline Guenser Jean-Sébastien Steyer Antoine Louchart The endocast of the insular and extinct Sylviornis neocaledoniae (Aves, Galliformes), reveals insights into its sensory specializations and its twilight ecology Scientific Reports |
| title | The endocast of the insular and extinct Sylviornis neocaledoniae (Aves, Galliformes), reveals insights into its sensory specializations and its twilight ecology |
| title_full | The endocast of the insular and extinct Sylviornis neocaledoniae (Aves, Galliformes), reveals insights into its sensory specializations and its twilight ecology |
| title_fullStr | The endocast of the insular and extinct Sylviornis neocaledoniae (Aves, Galliformes), reveals insights into its sensory specializations and its twilight ecology |
| title_full_unstemmed | The endocast of the insular and extinct Sylviornis neocaledoniae (Aves, Galliformes), reveals insights into its sensory specializations and its twilight ecology |
| title_short | The endocast of the insular and extinct Sylviornis neocaledoniae (Aves, Galliformes), reveals insights into its sensory specializations and its twilight ecology |
| title_sort | endocast of the insular and extinct sylviornis neocaledoniae aves galliformes reveals insights into its sensory specializations and its twilight ecology |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-14829-z |
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