Rosenberg H I, Richardson K C
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
J Morphol. 1995 Mar;223(3):303-23. doi: 10.1002/jmor.1052230307.
The sharply tapering skull of the honey possum is delicately constructed and has only a few, minute teeth; its mandible is reduced to a thin, flexible rod. The mandibular fossa has been displaced caudally to the caudomedial corner of the squamosal. Head skeletons of the feathertail glider and western pygmy-possum, omnivores that are closely related to the honey possum, bear greater resemblance to the distantly related carnivorous fat-tailed dunnart than to the honey possum. Selected muscles associated with the jaws, hyoid, and tongue of these four mouse-sized (9-22 g) marsupials are described for the first time. The honey possum is characterized by a greatly reduced temporalis that is almost completely hidden by the eye. Its digastric consists of a single belly that inserts onto the caudal margin of the mylohyoid. The lateral pterygoid is relatively long as it extends caudally to insert onto the elongated mandible. The stylohyoid originates high up on the caudal surface of the tympanic bulla; it curves around the caudal and ventral surfaces of the bulla to reach the basihyoid. The insertion of the genioglossus is restricted to the caudal quarter of the tongue. Homologous muscles of the feathertail glider and western pygmy-possum are more similar to those of the fat-tailed dunnart. In addition to the very different musculoskeletal system, the honey possum has an unusual tongue that tapers to a fine point.
蜜袋鼯的头骨急剧变细，结构精巧，只有几颗微小的牙齿；它的下颌骨缩减为一根细而灵活的杆状物。下颌窝已向尾侧移位至鳞状骨的尾内侧角。与蜜袋鼯亲缘关系密切的杂食性动物羽尾袋鼯和西部侏儒负鼠的头部骨骼，与亲缘关系较远的肉食性肥尾 Dunnart 的头骨更为相似，而与蜜袋鼯的头骨差异较大。首次描述了这四种体重在 9 - 22 克、体型如小鼠的有袋动物与颌骨、舌骨和舌头相关的特定肌肉。蜜袋鼯的特点是颞肌大幅缩减，几乎完全被眼睛遮住。它的二腹肌由单一肌腹组成，附着于颏舌骨肌的尾缘。翼外肌相对较长，向后延伸附着于细长的下颌骨。茎突舌骨肌起源于鼓泡尾表面的高处；它围绕鼓泡的尾侧和腹侧表面弯曲，到达基舌骨。颏舌肌的附着点仅限于舌头的尾四分之一处。羽尾袋鼯和西部侏儒负鼠的同源肌肉与肥尾 Dunnart 的更为相似。除了肌肉骨骼系统差异极大外，蜜袋鼯还有一条形状奇特的舌头，舌尖逐渐变细。
