The enigmatic spherical-horned Tsaidamotherium reveals an unsuccessful grazing adaptation of early giraffoids

Shiqi Wang; Jie Ye

doi:10.59717/j.xinn-life.2023.100035

The Innovation Life > 2023 Vol. 1 > No. 3 > 100035

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The enigmatic spherical-horned Tsaidamotherium reveals an unsuccessful grazing adaptation of early giraffoids

Shiqi Wang^1, ,,
Jie Ye¹

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

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Corresponding author: wangshiqi@ivpp.ac.cn
Received Date: August 12, 2023

Accepted Date: November 21, 2023

Published Online: November 27, 2023

The Innovation Life 1(3), https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-life.2023.100035 | Cite this article

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1. Crucial evidence reveals a giraffid-like ossicone fusion mode in Tsaidamotherium.
  
  Tsaidamotherium is a small grazing giraffoid characterized by a spherical horn.
  
  Tsaidamotherium represents the open-ecosystem grazing adaptation in early giraffoids.

ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT

Tsaidamotherium was previously believed to be an “Ovibos-like” bovid because of its specialized basicranial morphology, which closely parallels that of living Ovibos. However, the plate-like headgear of Tsaidamotherium is so strange that confidently categorizing it as bovid horncores is challenging. In this paper, we conducted a comparative development study on the morphology of Tsaidamotherium. The headgear of a juvenile Tsaidamotherium exhibits a stepwise fusion state, with a distinct seam between the headgear and the calvaria. This morphology contradicts the typical development of bovid horncore anlagen, where fusion occurs in the early stages and is limited to a small area, making the fusion seam unobservable. Developmental conservatism dictates that primary bovid horncores form in pairs and strictly develop on the frontals. However, Tsaidamotherium possesses only one headgear primarily supported by the parietal. Therefore, the Tsaidamotherium headgear cannot be classified as bovid horncores but aligns better with giraffoid ossicones in terms of both development and morphology. Tsaidamotherium, as a miniaturized grazing giraffoid, likely represents a giraffoid lineage that adapted to open-land grazing, competing with various bovids but ultimately facing defeat. This may serve as another example to understand the early evolution and radiation of giraffoids: basal giraffoids exhibited diversity and expanded into open ecosystems. While most failed as small grazers, some survived as high-level browsers, eventually giving rise to Giraffa, which succeeded with an extremely long neck among giraffoids.
- ruminant headgear /
- headgear development /
- horncore /
- ossicone /
- grazer /
- bony labyrinth

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Wang S. and Ye J. (2023). The enigmatic spherical-horned Tsaidamotherium reveals an unsuccessful grazing adaptation of early giraffoids. The Innovation Life 1(3), 100035. https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-life.2023.100035

Wang S. and Ye J. (2023). The enigmatic spherical-horned Tsaidamotherium reveals an unsuccessful grazing adaptation of early giraffoids. The Innovation Life 1(3), 100035. https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-life.2023.100035

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The enigmatic spherical-horned Tsaidamotherium reveals an unsuccessful grazing adaptation of early giraffoids

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

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