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Ontogenetic and Intraspecific Variation in the Skull Morphology of the Late Miocene Bovid Hezhengia bohlini

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Abstract

Hezhengia bohlini is one of the extinct bovids with the most abundant material, especially skulls. To date, skulls have been described, and the phylogenetic relationships and dietary habits have been discussed, but the ontogenetic processes of this special bovid with robust horn cores and a heavily built cranium have not yet been explored. Intraspecific variation in H. bohlini is high, but the variation ranges of different parts of the skull are unknown. In this study, we took 28 measurements and distinguished five age stages from sub-adult to senile. We described the ontogeny of the horn core, dentition, and skull and compared allometric growth and intraspecific variations of different parts of the skull. Although horn core growth and cranial roof arching are supposed highly related, horn core robustness is not related to cranium shape, basioccipital size, nor skull length or width. The rapid horn core growth of H. bohlini occurs in a very short period, from sub-adult to adult, whereas minor modifications and the deposition of exostoses are lifelong processes. The ontogenetic trajectory of H. bohlini differs from that of the closely related urmiatherine, Urmiatherium intermedium, in its late horn core development and cranial roof elevation, but characteristic features of basicranium development are only slightly different in both species. This study not only provides a good model for the study of ontogenetic and intraspecific variations in fossil bovids but also provides a framework for classifying other bovids known from fewer materials.

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Data Availability

All materials are preserved in Hezheng Paleozoological Museum, Gansu, China, and the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. They are available at any time.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Zhan-Xiang Qiu (IVPP) for his helpful discussions and modifications of the manuscript, Michael Benton (University of Bristol) for his advice in the research, Jan-Ove R. Ebbestad and Benjamin R. Kear for access to the fossil bovid collection in the Museum of Evolution in Uppsala University, Wen He and Shan-Qin Chen for access to the fossil bovids in Hezheng Paleozoological Museum, Jin Chen and Dong-Sheng Li for access to the fossil and extant bovid collections in the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology. We thank the field team for their help in the fieldwork. We gratefully acknowledge the editors and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions. This work was supported by Chinese Academy of Sciences (QYZDY-SSW-DQC002, XDB26000000, XDA20070203, XDB31030106, GJHZ1885), National Natural Science Foundation of China (41402020, 41872005), the Royal Society and the Newton Fund (NA160290).

Funding

Chinese Academy of Sciences (QYZDY-SSW-DQC002, XDB26000000, XDA20070203, XDB31030106, GJHZ1885). National Natural Science Foundation of China (41402020, 41872005), the Royal Society and the Newton Fund (NA160290).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China

    Qin-Qin Shi, Su-Kuan Hou, Bo-Yang Sun, Shi-Qi Wang & Tao Deng

  2. CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, 100044, China

    Qin-Qin Shi, Su-Kuan Hou, Bo-Yang Sun, Shi-Qi Wang & Tao Deng

  3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Su-Kuan Hou & Tao Deng

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  1. Qin-Qin Shi
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  2. Su-Kuan Hou
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Correspondence to Qin-Qin Shi.

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Shi, QQ., Hou, SK., Sun, BY. et al. Ontogenetic and Intraspecific Variation in the Skull Morphology of the Late Miocene Bovid Hezhengia bohlini. J Mammal Evol 28, 871–884 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-021-09558-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-021-09558-5

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