Palombo Maria Rita, Zedda Marco
CNR-IGAG c/o Department of Earth Sciences, Sapienza University, Roma, Italy.
Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, Italy.
Integr Zool. 2022 Jan;17(1):54-77. doi: 10.1111/1749-4877.12533. Epub 2021 Apr 6.
The research describes for the first time a possible case of pituitary gigantism in fossil mammals, precisely in deer. The pathology was detected in 2 long bones (tibia and metatarsus) belonging to an individual of an unusual large size found at the Bate cave (Rethymnon, Northern Crete). It formed the basis of Candiacervus major, the largest among the endemic deer species recorded in the Pleistocene-Early Holocene of Crete. Radiological and histomorphological examinations highlighted a reduction in cortical bone thickness and the presence of wide lacunae inside of the bone tissue. The pathological conditions suggest a pituitary gigantism diagnosis also supported by some morphological evidence, such as the extremely elongated distal part of the metatarsal diaphysis, the proportionally small proximal epiphysis, and some bone gracility. The diagnosis of a case of pituitary gigantism as presumed responsible for the extraordinary elongation of the tibia and the metatarsal bone is intriguing as they are, respectively, the paratype and the holotype of the C. major. The species represents a case of a deviation from the "island rule" in Pleistocene large mammals. The new evidence recommends a taxonomic and nomenclatural revision of this species. The main outcomes of this research are as follows: (i) a case of pituitary gigantism is described for the first time in an extinct mammal; (ii) it is underlined that paleohistology may provide interesting clues for disentangling taxonomic and nomenclatural issues; (iii) one of the very few cases of gigantism in insular mammals is being questioned.
该研究首次描述了化石哺乳动物中可能存在的垂体巨人症病例，确切地说是在鹿身上。在属于一只体型异常巨大的个体的两根长骨（胫骨和跖骨）中检测到了这种病变，该个体是在贝特洞穴（克里特岛北部雷西姆农）发现的。它构成了大 Candiacervus major 的基础，Candiacervus major 是克里特岛更新世 - 全新世早期记录的特有鹿种中最大的一种。放射学和组织形态学检查突出显示皮质骨厚度减少以及骨组织内部存在宽大的腔隙。这些病理状况表明垂体巨人症的诊断，一些形态学证据也支持这一诊断，比如跖骨干远端异常拉长、近端骨骺相对较小以及一些骨骼纤细。将垂体巨人症病例诊断为可能是导致胫骨和跖骨异常拉长的原因很有意思，因为它们分别是大 Candiacervus major 的副型和正型。该物种代表了更新世大型哺乳动物中偏离“岛屿法则”的一个案例。新证据建议对该物种进行分类学和命名法修订。这项研究的主要成果如下：（i）首次在已灭绝的哺乳动物中描述了垂体巨人症病例；（ii）强调古组织学可能为解开分类学和命名法问题提供有趣的线索；（iii）对岛屿哺乳动物中极少数的巨人症案例之一提出了质疑。
