Convergent evolution of skim feeding in baleen whales

作者：Ludovic Dutoit, Kieren J. Mitchell, Nicolás Dussex, Catherine M. Kemper, Petter Larsson, Love Dalén, Nicolas J. Rawlence, Felix G. Marx · 发表于：Marine Mammal Science · 年份：2023 · DOI：10.1111/mms.13047 · 被引用次数：7 · 研究领域：Marine animal studies overview、Marine and coastal plant biology、Cephalopods and Marine Biology

The evolutionary relationships of the pygmy right whale Caperea marginata, the smallest and most enigmatic of the living baleen whales (mysticetes), remain contentious. For 150 years, morphological analyses have allied Caperea with right whales based on their similar skim filter feeding strategies and shared cranial features like a tall braincase, highly arched rostrum, and elongate baleen plates (Beddard, 1901; Bisconti, 2012; Gray, 1871; McLeod et al., 1993). By contrast, molecular and some anatomical evidence—e.g., presence of a squamosal cleft, tympanic recess, and four-fingered flipper—suggest a closer relationship with rorquals and gray whales, Eschrichtius robustus (Dornburg et al., 2012; Fordyce & Marx, 2013; Lloyd & Slater, 2021; Marx, 2011; McGowen et al., 2009, 2020; Park et al., 2017; Steeman et al., 2009). Reconciling these divergent interpretations has proved challenging, with nontraditional anatomical character interpretations that are consistent with the molecular data (e.g., Fordyce & Marx, 2013; Gol'din & Steeman, 2015; Marx & Fordyce, 2016) reputedly “gloss[ing] over the substantial issue of convergence posed by the many balaenid features of Caperea” (Berta & Deméré, 2018, p. 73). As a result, many morphological analyses continue to recover—or regard—Caperea and right whales as sister taxa (Bisconti, 2015; Bisconti & Carnevale, 2022; Bisconti et al., 2017, 2021; Boessenecker & Fordyce, 2017; El Adli et al., 2014; Peredo et al., 2018), which in turn has shap...