Comparative brain morphology of Neotropical parrots (Aves, Psittaciformes) inferred from virtual 3D endocasts

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• 作者：Julieta Carril ; Claudia Patricia Tambussi ; Federico Javier Degrange ; Marí ; a Juliana Benitez Saldivar and Mariana Beatriz Julieta Picasso
• 刊名：Journal of Anatomy
• 出版年：2016
• 出版时间：August 2016
• 年：2016
• 卷：229
• 期：2
• 页码：239-251
• 全文大小：1501K
• ISSN：1469-7580

文摘

Psittaciformes are a very diverse group of non-passerine birds, with advanced cognitive abilities and highly developed locomotor and feeding behaviours. Using computed tomography and three-dimensional (3D) visualization software, the endocasts of 14 extant Neotropical parrots were reconstructed, with the aim of analysing, comparing and exploring the morphology of the brain within the clade. A 3D geomorphometric analysis was performed, and the encephalization quotient (EQ) was calculated. Brain morphology character states were traced onto a Psittaciformes tree in order to facilitate interpretation of morphological traits in a phylogenetic context. Our results indicate that: (i) there are two conspicuously distinct brain morphologies, one considered walnut type (quadrangular and wider than long) and the other rounded (narrower and rostrally tapered); (ii) Psittaciformes possess a noticeable notch between hemisphaeria that divides the bulbus olfactorius; (iii) the plesiomorphic and most frequently observed characteristics of Neotropical parrots are a rostrally tapered telencephalon in dorsal view, distinctly enlarged dorsal expansion of the eminentia sagittalis and conspicuous fissura mediana; (iv) there is a positive correlation between body mass and brain volume; (v) psittacids are characterized by high EQ values that suggest high brain volumes in relation to their body masses; and (vi) the endocranial morphology of the Psittaciformes as a whole is distinctive relative to other birds. This new knowledge of brain morphology offers much potential for further insight in paleoneurological, phylogenetic and evolutionary studies.