Mammals (class Mammalia) have evolved diverse craniofacial morphology to adapt to a wide range of ecological niches. However, the genetic and developmental mechanisms underlying the diversification of mammalian craniofacial morphology remain largely unknown. In this paper, we focus on the facial length and orofacial clefts of mammals and deduce potential mechanisms that produced diversity in mammalian facial morphology. Small-scale changes in facial morphology from the common ancestor, such as slight changes in facial length and the evolution of the midline cleft in some lineages of bats, could be attributed to heterochrony in facial bone ossification. In contrast, large-scale changes of facial morphology from the common ancestor, such as a truncated, widened face as well as the evolution of the bilateral cleft possessed by some bat species, could be brought about by changes in growth and patterning of the facial primordium (the facial processes) at the early stages of embryogenesis.

中文翻译：

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在哺乳动物面部形态中创造多样性：潜在的发育机制综述。

哺乳动物（哺乳动物类）已进化出多种颅面形态，以适应各种生态位。但是，哺乳动物颅面形态多样化的遗传和发育机制仍是未知之数。在本文中，我们着眼于哺乳动物的面部长度和口面部裂隙，并推论出产生哺乳动物面部形态多样性的潜在机制。来自共同祖先的面部形态的小范围变化，例如面部长度的细微变化和某些蝙蝠谱系中线裂缝的演变，可能归因于面部骨骼骨化的异时性。相比之下，共同祖先的面部形态发生了大规模变化，例如截短，变宽的脸以及某些蝙蝠物种所拥有的双侧c裂的演变，