Lemelin P
Department of Biological Anthropology and Anatomy, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
J Hum Evol. 2000 Feb;38(2):257-67. doi: 10.1006/jhev.1999.0321.
Paleontological and molecular evidence have been employed to suggest that flying lemurs (Dermoptera) and primates form a monophyletic group, in sharp contrast with cranial and postcranial evidence indicating sister group relationships between flying lemurs and bats (Chiroptera). New evidence from the epidermis of the volar pads of primates, tree shrews, flying lemurs, bats, and other mammals was examined and mapped on to various hypotheses of archontan relationships. The micro-anatomy of the skin on the palm and sole of flying lemurs and bats differs fundamentally from that of tree shrews (Scandentia) and primates. The volar skin of flying lemurs and bats lacks the serial arrangement of papillary ridges and grooves ("fingerprints") found in primates, tree shrews, and many other mammals. Moreover, the junction between the epidermis and dermis in flying lemurs and bats is relatively flat and shows little or no development of the internal ridges that occur in primates and tree shrews. When mapped on to a set of cladograms of mammals currently allocated to the superorder Archonta, this new evidence does not support sister group relationships between flying lemurs and primates, regardless of the volar skin morphology that characterized the last common ancestor of Archonta. Micro-anatomical differences that distinguish the volar skin of flying lemurs and bats from that of primates and tree shrews reflect a profound dichotomy in the functional roles fulfilled by the extremities, which could be significant in a phylogenetic context.
古生物学和分子证据表明，鼯猴（皮翼目）和灵长类动物构成一个单系类群，这与表明鼯猴和蝙蝠（翼手目）是姐妹群关系的颅骨和颅后证据形成鲜明对比。研究了来自灵长类动物、树鼩、鼯猴、蝙蝠和其他哺乳动物掌垫表皮的新证据，并将其映射到各种关于近兽类关系的假说上。鼯猴和蝙蝠手掌和脚底皮肤的微观解剖结构与树鼩（攀兽目）和灵长类动物有根本区别。鼯猴和蝙蝠的掌部皮肤缺乏灵长类动物、树鼩和许多其他哺乳动物中发现的乳头状嵴和沟（“指纹”）的连续排列。此外，鼯猴和蝙蝠的表皮与真皮之间的交界处相对平坦，几乎没有或没有灵长类动物和树鼩中出现的内部嵴的发育。当将这些新证据映射到当前归入总目近兽类的一组哺乳动物分支图上时，无论近兽类的最后共同祖先的掌部皮肤形态如何，这一新证据都不支持鼯猴和灵长类动物之间的姐妹群关系。鼯猴和蝙蝠的掌部皮肤与灵长类动物和树鼩的掌部皮肤之间的微观解剖差异反映了四肢所起功能作用的深刻二分法，这在系统发育背景下可能具有重要意义。
