Artículos de revistas
Cranial morphological variation of Dromiciops gliroides (Microbiotheria) along its geographical distribution in south-central Chile: a three dimensional analysis
Fecha
2017Registro en:
Mammalian Biology 87 (2017) 107–117
Autor
Valladares Gómez, Alejandro
Celis Diez, Juan L.
Palma, R. Eduardo
Manríquez, Germán S.
Institución
Resumen
We analyzed the variation in cranial morphology of the marsupial Dromiciops gliroides along its distribution
in south-central Chile. We evaluated whether the cranial morphological variation is congruent with
the phylogeographic structure previously observed in this species. We built three-dimensional models of
69 crania on which we digitized 30 landmarks. We used standard geometric morphometric methods to
extract and analyze the shape and size components of the crania. Our data showed a subtle but consistent
cranial size and shape variation along the studied distributional range, suggesting a geographic variation
pattern rather than a phylogeographic structuring. Indeed, our multivariate analyses recovered a subtle
morphological differentiation between island and mainland populations, contrary to what is suggested
by a former phylogeographic study. We detected that either the cranial size variation, as well as the
insularity and the latitude could be important factors underlying the cranial shape changes. We suggest
that an interplay of historical and contemporary processes could be shaping the morphological pattern
observed in this marsupial.