How mice and rats developed a unique masticatory apparatus making them evolutionary champions
Monday, October 28, 2013 - 11:35
in Biology & Nature
The subfamily of rodents known as Murinae (mice, rats, etc.), which first appeared in Asia 12 million years ago, spread across the entire Old World (Eurasia, Africa, Australia) in less than 2 million years, a remarkably fast rate. Researchers have long suspected that one of the reasons for their evolutionary success is related to their unique masticatory apparatus. Now, researchers have used the brilliant X-ray beams produced at the European Synchrotron (ESRF) to study several hundred specimens, both extant and extinct, to describe the evolutionary processes that caused rats and mice to acquire this characteristic feature. The study was published in the journal Evolution on November 28, 2013.