Topic
Cryptochloris
About: Cryptochloris is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 3 publications have been published within this topic receiving 72 citations.
Papers
TL;DR: It is proposed that adaptations towards low-frequency airborne hearing might have predisposed golden moles towards the evolution of seismic sensitivity through inertial bone conduction and the morphology of the middle ear apparatus sheds little light on the disputed ordinal position of the Chrysochloridae.
Abstract: The middle ear structures of nine species of golden moles (family Chrysochloridae) were examined under the light microscope. Auditory structures of several of these species are described here for the first time in detail, the emphasis being on the ossicular apparatus. Confirming previous observations, some golden moles (e.g. Amblysomus species) have ossicles of a morphology typical of mammals, whereas others ( Chrysospalax , Chrysochloris , Cryptochloris and Eremitalpa species) have enormously hypertrophied mallei. Golden moles differ in the nature and extent of the interbullar connection, the shape of the tympanic membrane and that of the manubrium. The stapes has an unusual orientation, projecting dorsomedially from the incus. It has been proposed that hypertrophied ossicles in golden moles are adapted towards the detection of seismic vibrations. The functional morphology of the middle ear apparatus is reconsidered in this light, and it is proposed that adaptations towards low-frequency airborne hearing might have predisposed golden moles towards the evolution of seismic sensitivity through inertial bone conduction. The morphology of the middle ear apparatus sheds little light on the disputed ordinal position of the Chrysochloridae.
58 citations
TL;DR: Using G-banding and chromosome painting, a comprehensive comparison of the karyotypes of five species representing five of the nine recognized genera is provided, placing the Chrysochloridae among the slower-evolving chromosomal lineages thus far recorded.
Abstract: Golden moles (Chrysochloridae) are poorly known subterranean mammals endemic to Southern Africa that are part of the superordinal clade Afrotheria. Using G-banding and chromosome painting we provide a comprehensive comparison of the karyotypes of five species representing five of the nine recognized genera: Amblysomus hottentotus, Chrysochloris asiatica, Chrysospalax trevelyani, Cryptochloris zyli and Eremitalpa granti. The species are karyotypically highly conserved. In total, only four changes were detected among them. Eremitalpa granti has the most derived karyotype with 2n = 26 and differs from the remaining species (all of whom have 2n = 30) by one centric and one telomere:telomere fusion. In addition, two intrachromosomal rearrangements were detected in A. hottentotus. The painting probes also suggest the presence of a unique satellite DNA family located on chromosomes 11 and 12 of both C. asiatica and C. zyli. This represents a synapomorphy linking these two sympatric species as sister taxa. A molecular clock was calibrated adopting a relaxed Bayesian approach for multigene data sets comprising publicly available sequences derived from five gene fragments representative of three golden moles and 39 other eutherian species. The data suggest that golden moles diverged from a common ancestor approximately 28.5 mya (95% credibility interval = 21.5–36.5 mya). Based on an inferred chrysochlorid ancestral karyotype of 2n = 30, the estimated rate of 0.7 rearrangements per 10 my (95% Credibility Interval = 0.54–0.93) differs from the ‘default rate’ of mammalian chromosomal evolution which has been estimated at one change per 10 million years, thus placing the Chrysochloridae among the slower-evolving chromosomal lineages thus far recorded.
19 citations
TL;DR: Van Zyl’s golden mole (Cryptochloris zyli) is a distinctive but little-known species from the northwestern Cape Province of South Africa, known only by the holotype.
Abstract: Van Zyl's golden mole (Cryptochloris zyli) is a distinctive but little-known species from the northwestern Cape Province of South Africa Many authors have mentioned that it is known only by the holotype Two other specimens are now known to exist; one was discovered in the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University, and the other, which has been mentioned in publication but overlooked, is in the Natural History Museum in London Differentiation of C zyli from sympatric chrysochlorids, and from its congener C wintoni, are discussed
1 citations
Related Topics (5)
Performance Metrics
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2006 | 1 |
| 2003 | 1 |
| 2001 | 1 |