Moschiola

Abstract: The cranial arterial pattern of artiodactyls deviates significantly from the typical mammalian pattern. One of the most striking atypical features is the rete mirabile epidurale: a subdural arterial meshwork that functionally and anatomically replaces the arteria carotis interna. This meshwork facilitates an exceptional ability to cool the brain, and was thought to be present in all artiodactyls. Recent research, however, has found that species of mouse deer (Artiodactyla: Tragulidae) endemic to the Malay Archipelago possess a complete a. carotis interna instead of a rete mirabile epidurale. As tragulids are the sister group to pecoran ruminants, the lack of a rete mirabile epidurale in these species raises intriguing evolutionary questions about the origin and nature of artiodactyl thermoregulatory cranial vasculature. In this study, cranial arterial patterns are documented for the remaining species within the Tragulidae. Radiopaque latex vascular injection, computed tomography (CT-scanning), and digital 3-dimensional anatomical reconstruction are used to image the cranial arteries of a Sri Lankan spotted chevrotain, Moschiola meminna. Sites of hard and soft tissue interaction were identified, and these osteological correlates were then sought in nine skulls representative of the remaining tragulid species. Both hard and soft tissue surveys confirm that the presence of an a. carotis interna is the common condition for tragulids. Moreover, the use of a 3-D, radiographic anatomical imaging technique enabled identification of a carotico-maxillary anastomosis that may have implications for the evolution of the artiodactyl rete mirabile epidurale.

Abstract: We analyzed skins and skulls of chevrotains (Moschiola sp., Artiodactyla) from Sri Lanka and India, and found considerable differences within this taxon. Based on the consistency of these differences we concluded that this taxon can be divided into three species: Moschiola indica from southern India, M. meminna from the Dry Zone in Sri Lanka, and M. kathygre n. sp. from Sri Lanka's Wet Zone. A single skull from Sri Lanka's Hill Zone may prove to represent a fourth species.

Abstract: New remains of the small tragulid Dorcatherium songhorensis Whitworth, 1958 from the Early Miocene fossil site of Napak XXI (Uganda) include the first significant sample of postcranial bones from this species ever described. The limb bones of this tragulid are very similar to that described in the Miocene Asian long-legged tragulids of the genus Siamotragulus Thomas et al., 1990, a type previously unknown in the African Miocene. A cladistic analysis links D. songhorensis to a Siamotragulus clade as its basal offshoot, so we propose the name Siamotragulus songhorensis (Whitworth, 1958) for this species. Also, the Siamotragulus clade belongs to a monophyletic group that includes Afrotragulus Sanchez et al., 2010 and the extant Asian genera Moschiola and Tragulus. This inclusive clade is characterized by both a derived selenodont dentition and an advanced postcranial skeleton. Additionally Siamotragulus shows some cursorial refinements reflected in its postcranial skeleton including the pecoran-like metatars...

Abstract: The mitochondrial genome of Indian mouse deer (Moschiola indica) was sequenced, assembled and characterized for the first time using 22 pairs of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers. The mitogenome of M. indica which is 16,444 bp in size was found very similar to most vertebrates in organisation that harbours 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA, 2 ribosomal RNA and 1A + T-rich region. Its comparison with over 52 mitogenomes of the order Artiodactyla, showed a conserved nature of gene organisation, codon usage, gene orientation and evolutionary rates of proteins except that M. indica possesses an extra copy of trnF. The complete mitogenome and protein-coding genes of M. indica were found to be highly A + T biased. Rate of protein evolution was highest in atp8 and lowest in cox3. Further, a higher purifying selection pressure was found to be acting on family Tragulidae compared to Bovidae and Cervidae. The phylogenetic analysis of M. indica placed the Tragulidae as sister-group of all other ruminants, similar to previous analyses. Moschiola forms the sister-group to the other two tragulid genera Tragulus (from Asia) and Hyemoschus (from Africa), which is unexpected as usually the Asian species are thought to form a monophyletic group.