title: Digging adaptation in insectivorous subterranean eutherians. The enigma of Mesoscalops montanensis unveiled by geometric morphometrics and finite element analysis.
abstract: The enigmatic Early Miocene fossorial mammal Mesoscalops montanensis shows one of the most modified humeri among terrestrial mammals. It has been suggested, on qualitative considerations, that this species has no extant homologues for humerus kinematics and that, functionally, the closest extant group is represented by Chrysochloridae. We combine here three dimensional geometric morphometrics, finite element analysis and phylogenetic comparative methods to explore the shape and mechanical stress states of Mesoscalops montanensis as well as of extant and extinct Talpidae and Chrysochloridae under realistic digging simulations. Evolutionary convergence analyses reveal that the shape of Mesoscalops montanensis represents a unique morphology in the context of fossorial mammals and that its functional performance, albeit superficially similar to that of extant Chrysochloridae, still represents a nonconvergent optimum for adaptation to digging.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze, Università di Roma Tre, Largo San Leonardo Murialdo, 1, Roma, 00146, Italy.|Center of Evolutionary Ecology, c/o Dipartimento B.S.T., Universita del Molise, Pesche, Italy.|Dipartimento di Scienze, Cardiovascolari, Respiratorie, Nefrologiche, Anestesiologiche e Geriatriche, "Sapienza"|Dipartimento di Ingegneria Strutturale e Geotecnica, "Sapienza" - Università di Roma, via Eudossiana 18, Rome, 00100, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Piras
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze, Università di Roma Tre, Largo San Leonardo Murialdo, 1, Roma, 00146, Italy.|Center of Evolutionary Ecology, c/o Dipartimento B.S.T., Universita del Molise, Pesche, Italy.
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sansalone
authors.affiliation: Center of Evolutionary Ecology, c/o Dipartimento B.S.T., Universita del Molise, Pesche, Italy.|Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica, LaMS - Modeling & Simulation Lab, Universita Roma Tre, via Della Vasca Navale 84, Roma, 00146, Italy.
authors.forename: Luciano
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Teresi
authors.affiliation: Studio Dentistico Marco Moscato, Viale Mazzini 144, Roma, 00195, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moscato
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, "Sapienza" Università di Roma, P.Le a. Moro 5 - 00185, Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Profico
authors.affiliation: Burke Museum, University of Washington, 17th Avenue NE and NE 45th Street, Box 353010, Seattle, Washington, 98105, USA.
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Eng
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics (Craniofacial Medicine), University of Washington & Small Animal Tomographic Analysis Facility, Seattle Children's Research Institute, 1900 9th Avenue, Seattle, Washington, 98105, USA.
authors.forename: Timothy C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Cox
authors.affiliation: Center of Evolutionary Ecology, c/o Dipartimento B.S.T., Universita del Molise, Pesche, Italy.|Dipartimento B.S.T., Università del Molise, Pesche, Italy.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Loy
authors.affiliation: Center of Evolutionary Ecology, c/o Dipartimento B.S.T., Universita del Molise, Pesche, Italy.|National Research Council, Institute of Ecosystem Study, Largo Tonolli 50 -28922 - Verbania Pallanza (VB), Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Colangelo
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze, Università di Roma Tre, Largo San Leonardo Murialdo, 1, Roma, 00146, Italy.|Center of Evolutionary Ecology, c/o Dipartimento B.S.T., Universita del Molise, Pesche, Italy.
authors.forename: Tassos
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kotsakis
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D005580:Fossils / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006811:Humerus / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D008971:Moles / Q000033:anatomy & histology*
keywords: Chrysochloridae; Proscalopidae; Talpidae; biomechanical simulation; comparative methods; functional morphology