New #AmniotaLab study: the first digital endocast 🧠 of the five-horned ruminant 🦌 𝘏𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘹 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪 from Miocene Gargano (Italy) reveals a distinct evolutionary path among island mammals

👏 @pierreorgebin.bsky.social @robertorozzi.bsky.social

🔗 royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

🧠🏝️
Each new fossil endocast helps us learn more about the intriguing phenomenon of island brain evolution! Huge thanks to all my coauthors and everyone who contributed to making this study possible! 🙏
7/7

🏝️⚖️
Unlike M. balearicus, H. matthei underwent only a minor brain size reduction. Different islands = different evolutionary pathways!
6/7

🕰️🐐
This means that its putative ancestor colonized Gargano much later than thought: not before the Early Miocene! The brain morphology of Hoplitomeryx definitively places it within Pecora, not primitive Tragulina as previously suspected.
5/7

🖥️🔬
Using high-resolution CT scanning, we digitally reconstructed its brain from fossil skulls and compared it with 35 extant and extinct ruminants. 🚨 H. matthei had a "modern" bovid-like brain, not a more primitive brain structure as expected!
4/7

🧬❓
H. matthei was truly bizarre: 5 horns, saber-like canines, and a debated phylogenetic position. Was it related to antelopes? Deer? Primitive ruminants? Its brain may hold crucial clues to solving this evolutionary puzzle...
3/7

🐐🧠
We know that some Pleistocene island mammals, like Myotragus balearicus (the "mouse goat"), underwent pronounced brain size changes. But how widespread and ancient is this phenomenon? More data are needed to build a comprehensive picture across time and different island systems.
2/7

🦌🧠🏝️
So happy to share my first PhD chapter! First digital brain endocast of Hoplitomeryx matthei - a strange five-horned ruminant from Gargano paleo-island (Italy).
Full study: doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
#Paleontology #Paleoneurology #IslandBiogeography
1/7

Our study on the role of the #PETM on the early evolutionary success of #salamandrids is out! Delighted to be part of this great project led by Loredana Macaluso, with A.Villa, @grumpydrfabre.bsky.social & B.Mennecart #salamanders #climatechanges 🌡☀️⌛️
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/... (1/2)

Great to have @evomorpholab.bsky.social visiting us!
A fantastic few days of sharing ideas, methods, and common interests.
Looking forward to more collaboration ahead!
#EvolutionaryBiology #Paleobiology #AmniotaLab

Excited to be @eavpalaeo.bsky.social conference #EAVP2025 in Krakow with @pierreorgebin.bsky.social & @willliii.bsky.social. If you're interested in neuroanatomy 🧠, ruminants 🦌🐐 & island evolution 🏝, don’t miss our talk & poster tomorrow at Krzysztofory Palace [Rynek Główny 35]) 1/3

Congratulations, @pierreorgebin.bsky.social! 🎉🎉 #proud_PhD_advisor

I had the great pleasure of attending the APF annual congress in #Lille last week! Deeply honored to have received the award for the best talk on an ongoing PhD 🦌🧠🏝
Many thanks to the organizers and to the inspiring researchers I had the chance to meet and learn from!

Do tropical biomes drive greater skull diversity in flying squirrels? 🐿️

@paleoiris.bsky.social from #AmniotaLab led this study to test it!
Diet shapes skulls, but tropical biomes don’t show extra disparity. extreme niche specialization might matter more!

🔗 Read more:
doi.org/10.1186/s129...

How do #evolution and environment shape ruminant ankles? 🐃🦴
@pierreorgebin.bsky.social from #AmniotaLab led this 3D morphometric study, revealing how size, phylogeny & habitat leave distinct marks on astragalus morphology!

🔗 Read more: www.nature.com/articles/s42...

#AmniotaLabCollab 📚🔍

Thrilled to announce that my first Master's paper on the astragalus of ruminants has been published! 🦒🐐🦌

3D geometric #morphometrics reveal how phylogeny, allometry, and locomotor adaptations shape the morphology of the ruminant astragalus, highlighting its integrated nature and evolutionary constraints. 🦒🐃🐐 @pierreorgebin.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s42...