Evolutionary convergence in distantly related species is among the most convincing evidence of adaptive evolution. The mammalian ear, responsible for balance and hearing, is not only characterised by its spectacular evolutionary incorporation of several bones of the jaw, it also varies considerably in shape across modern mammals. Using a multivariate approach, we show that in Afrotheria, a monophyletic clade with morphologically and ecologically highly disparate species, inner ear shape has evolved similar adaptations as in non-afrotherian mammals. We identify four eco-morphological trait combinations that underlie this convergence. The high evolvability of the mammalian ear is surprising: Nowhere else in the skeleton are different functional units so close together; it includes the smallest bones of the skeleton, encapsulated within the densest bone. We suggest that this evolvability is a direct consequence of the increased genetic and developmental complexity of the mammalian ear compared to other vertebrates.

Accurate taxonomy and descriptions of species are key to understanding biodiversity. The echinoid genus Tripneustes is an ecologically and commercially important taxon that includes the tropical Tripneustes gratilla gratilla and the recently described T. kermadecensis from Australia and New Zealand. While examining the Australian Museum collections to clarify the distributions of these two species in eastern Australia we found potential senior type material for T. kermadecensis. These specimens from Sydney Harbour were originally described in 1878 as Evechinus australiae by Tenison-Woods but neither illustrated nor redescribed in any subsequent report. We undertook molecular and morphological analysis of these specimens to determine whether T. kermadecensis and E. australiae represent two distinct taxa or not. This included micro-computed tomography, quantification of test traits and molecular genetic analysis. The COI sequence and morphology of Evechinus australiae matched that of Tripneustes kermadecensis. As such, T. kermadecensis is a junior synonym of Evechinus australiae. The correct designation of this taxon is therefore Tripneustes australiae (Tenison-Woods, 1878). ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:9B9E685C-9C1C-4645-A799-D97969BAA033

The extraction of museum DNA from a unique collection of samples of the “Crocidura pergrisea” species complex, which comprises local endemics of Central and West Asia, allowed us to determine their inter- and intragroup relationships. The first step of this study was the re-evaluation of heavily damaged type specimens of C. armenica via a microcomputed-tomography-based cybertaxonomic approach (CTtax), which enabled a precise description of the species’ morphology; three-dimensional models of the cybertypes were made available through the MorphoBank Repository. We developed the “AProMaDesU” pipeline on the basis of five requirements for micro-CT-based cyber-datasets in relation to mammalian collections. Our second step was a combination of several meticulous approaches to morphological investigation against a background of a cytb-based phylogeny, which helped us to make a taxonomic decision about the status of species of the “pergrisea” group, e.g., C. arispa, C. armenica, and C. serezkyensis, when the morphological results were partly incongruent with the molecular phylogeny. Nevertheless, under two assumptions, our findings preserved a separate species-level status of C. serezkyensis and C. arispa. In addition, we restored the species-level status of C. armenica. This taxonomic decision is based on our morphospace analysis, which revealed unique craniomandibular shape transformations within the rocky shrews that helped them with the transition to a new area of morphospace/trophic niches and consequently separated them from the other analyzed Crocidura groups.

This paper provides an upgrade of Hystrix parvae, which so far is the smallest and oldest extinct species of Hystrix s. str. The new data derive from the exceptionally rich new fossil collection of the locality Kohfidisch in Austria, that comprises more than 100 fossils. The detailed descriptions are supported by enamel microstructure analysis of incisors, and x-ray microcomputed images (microCT) of the partial skull, upper and lower jaws and teeth. The tooth pattern and sizes show wide ranges, depending on the ontogenetic stage, tooth position and stage of wear. The deciduous D4/d4 and the permanent lower p4-m3 are identified as low crowned or brachydont. The mean hypsodonty index of m1/2 is 69%. The permanent upper P4-M3 are brachydont to mesodont. The mean hypsodonty index of M1/2 is 114%. The karstic cave and fissure system of Kohfidisch provided an ideal nursery environment as evidenced by numerous deciduous teeth in different ontogenetic stages. The age of the fauna is Late Miocene (lower Turolian, MN11), around 8.6 million years.

The term “hyperostosis” refers to an overgrowth of bone, which results in an increase in bone volume and/or compactness localized in vertebrate skeletons from fish to mammals including men. Hyperostosis can originate pathologically but also non-pathologically. In latter case, it is often species specific. Such species specific hyperostoses are known especially from marine acanthopterygian fishes with anosteocytic (acellular) bone. These hyperostotic bones are characterized by an increase of their volume giving them a globular, swollen appearance. Generally, the hyperostotic bones of Acanthopterygii have a spongy structure but there are also few cases where they are massive and compact. The Ichthyological collection of the Natural History Museum Vienna (NHMW) houses a collection of skeletons from species which exhibit a “typical” hyperostosis (voluminous bones of spongy structure) but also that characterized by increased volume of bones with compact structure. Furthermore, based on skeletons of juvenile specimens, we can demonstrate that the timing of onset of hyperostosis is not simultaneous but sequential.