Fossils document evolutionary changes of jaw joint to mammalian middle ear

Fangyuan Mao (), Chi Zhang, Jicheng Ren, Tao Wang, Guofu Wang, Fakui Zhang, Thomas Rich, Patricia Vickers-Rich and Jin Meng ()
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Fangyuan Mao: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Chi Zhang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jicheng Ren: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Tao Wang: Bureau of Land and Resources of Lufeng County
Guofu Wang: Fossil Research Center of Chuxiong Prefecture
Fakui Zhang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Thomas Rich: Museums Victoria
Patricia Vickers-Rich: Museums Victoria
Jin Meng: American Museum of Natural History

Nature, 2024, vol. 628, issue 8008, 576-581

Abstract: Abstract The dual jaw joint of Morganucodon1,2 consists of the dentary–squamosal joint laterally and the articular–quadrate one medially. The articular–quadrate joint and its associated post-dentary bones constitute the precursor of the mammalian middle ear. Fossils documenting the transition from such a precursor to the mammalian middle ear are poor, resulting in inconsistent interpretations of this hallmark apparatus in the earliest stage of mammaliaform evolution1–5. Here we report mandibular middle ears from two Jurassic mammaliaforms: a new morganucodontan-like species and a pseudotribosphenic shuotheriid species6. The morganucodontan-like species shows many previously unknown post-dentary bone morphologies1,2 and exhibits features that suggest a loss of load-bearing function in its articular–quadrate joint. The middle ear of the shuotheriid approaches the mammalian condition in that it has features that are suitable for an exclusively auditory function, although the post-dentary bones are still attached to the dentary. With size reduction of the jaw-joint bones, the quadrate shifts medially at different degrees in relation to the articular in the two mammaliaforms. These changes provide evidence of a gradual loss of load-bearing function in the articular–quadrate jaw joint—a prerequisite for the detachment of the post-dentary bones from the dentary7–12 and the eventual breakdown of the Meckel’s cartilage13–15 during the evolution of mammaliaforms.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07235-0

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