Convergent evolution of diverse jaw joints in mammaliamorphs

doi:10.1038/s41586-025-09572-0

IVPP-IR

	Convergent evolution of diverse jaw joints in mammaliamorphs
	Mao, Fangyuan 1,2; Jiang, Shan 3,4; Liu, Jun1 ; Ren, Jicheng 1; Ye, Yong 3,4; Liu, Yu 3,4; Shen, Xin 3,4; Wang, Tao 5; Wang, Guofu 6; Wang, Ping 7; Chen, Juan 7; Meng, Jin2,8
	2025-09-24
发表期刊	NATURE
ISSN	0028-0836
页码	23
通讯作者	Mao, Fangyuan(maofangyuan@ivpp.ac.cn) ; Meng, Jin(jmeng@amnh.org)
摘要	The evolution of a single-dentary-boned lower jaw and its secondary craniomandibular articulation between the dentary condyle and the squamosal glenoid has been regarded as a pivotal vertebrate innovation and defining mammalian trait1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6-7. Here we report two mammaliamorphs with novel shapes of secondary jaw joint, offering insight into the evolution of the mammalian jaw. The first, Polistodon8, a Middle Jurassic herbivorous tritylodontid with a relatively large body size and a lifestyle that is likely to have been fossorial, uniquely evolved a dentary-jugal articulation. The second, an Early Jurassic morganucodontan, exhibits a dentary-squamosal joint that lacks a bulbous condyle, supporting the hypothesis that the mammalian dentary condyle was formed by expansion of the lateral ridge of the dentary9. These diverse joints reflect repeated evolutionary experimentation in advanced cynodonts, in which secondary jaw joints arose independently7,10, and in which the load-bearing dentary-squamosal joint is a synapomorphy of mammaliaforms. Although body miniaturization might have driven this transformation11, our findings indicate that other factors were involved, such as jaw-muscle reorganization, feeding ecology and masticatory behaviour7,12, 13, 14, 15, 16-17. The ecomorphological diversity of these taxa suggest that phenotypic plasticity and environmentally induced morphological changes18, 19-20 could have shaped jaw-joint evolution, emphasizing how ecological pressures and developmental flexibility guided the diversification of jaw structures in mammalian ancestors.
DOI	10.1038/s41586-025-09572-0
关键词[WOS]	ORIGIN ; TRITHELEDONTIDAE ; TRITYLODONTIDAE ; PHYLOGENY ; SKULL
收录类别	SCI
语种	英语
资助项目	National Natural Science Foundation of China[42122010] ; National Natural Science Foundation of China[42288201] ; Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences[Y2023017] ; Project Foundation of the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Heritage Administration[SCWW2023A02] ; Chongqing Municipal Planning and Natural Resource Bureau[ZC-2021018]
项目资助者	National Natural Science Foundation of China ; Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences ; Project Foundation of the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Heritage Administration ; Chongqing Municipal Planning and Natural Resource Bureau
WOS研究方向	Science & Technology - Other Topics
WOS类目	Multidisciplinary Sciences
WOS记录号	WOS:001577776800001
出版者	NATURE PORTFOLIO
引用统计
文献类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://119.78.100.205/handle/311034/25014
专题	中国科学院古脊椎动物与古人类研究所
通讯作者	Mao, Fangyuan; Meng, Jin
作者单位	1.Chinese Acad Sci, Key Lab Vertebrate Evolut & Human Origins, Inst Vertebrate Paleontol & Paleoanthropol, Beijing, Peoples R China 2.Amer Museum Nat Hist, Div Paleontol, New York, NY 10024 USA 3.Zigong Dinosaur Museum, Res Ctr Jurass Stratig & Paleontol, Zigong, Peoples R China 4.Sichuan Prov Dept Culture & Tourism, Key Lab Dinosaur Res & Protect, Zigong, Peoples R China 5.Bur Land & Resources Lufeng Cty, Lufeng, Peoples R China 6.Fossil Res Ctr Chuxiong Prefecture, Chuxiong, Peoples R China 7.Chongqing Inst Paleontol Chongqing, Chongqing Key Lab Paleontol & Paleoenvironm Coevol, Chongqing, Peoples R China 8.CUNY, Earth & Environm Sci, Grad Ctr, New York, NY 10016 USA
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Mao, Fangyuan,Jiang, Shan,Liu, Jun,et al. Convergent evolution of diverse jaw joints in mammaliamorphs[J]. NATURE,2025:23.
APA	Mao, Fangyuan.,Jiang, Shan.,Liu, Jun.,Ren, Jicheng.,Ye, Yong.,...&Meng, Jin.(2025).Convergent evolution of diverse jaw joints in mammaliamorphs.NATURE,23.
MLA	Mao, Fangyuan,et al."Convergent evolution of diverse jaw joints in mammaliamorphs".NATURE (2025):23.