Garcia-Perea R
Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Dpto. Biodiversidad y Biología Evolutiva, Madrid, Spain.
J Morphol. 1996 Sep;229(3):241-54. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-4687(199609)229:3<241::AID-JMOR1>3.0.CO;2-1.
Studies on ossification patterns and other ontogenetic events associated with postnatal cranial growth of wild felids are scarce. An analysis of developmental processes undergone by several cranial structures (presphenoidal and sphenooccipital synchondroses, temporal and sagittal crests, and deciduous and permanent teeth) during postnatal growth has been conducted on a sample of 336 specimens belonging to the four Recent species of lynxes (Lynx pardinus, Lynx lynx, Lynx rufus, and Lynx canadensis). Age has been estimated based on tooth replacement, skull size, and by counting the annual lines of cementum growth. Comparison of the results obtained for each of the four species reveal (1) a single pattern for both tooth replacement and ossification of the sphenooccipital synchondrosis, (2) two ossification patterns for the presphenoidal synchondrosis, (3) a common pattern for development of temporal ridges and sagittal crest showing different degrees of morphological expression, and (4) evidence suggesting the involvement of a heterochronic process, neoteny, in the morphological differentiation of several populations and species of the genus Lynx. These data also support the hypothesis that processes involved in the replacement of carnassials are based on functional requirements.
关于野生猫科动物出生后颅骨生长相关的骨化模式及其他个体发育事件的研究较为匮乏。我们对336个属于四种现存猞猁（西班牙猞猁、欧亚猞猁、加拿大猞猁和短尾猫）样本的几个颅骨结构（蝶骨前部和蝶枕软骨结合、颞嵴和矢状嵴以及乳牙和恒牙）在出生后生长过程中所经历的发育过程进行了分析。基于牙齿替换、颅骨大小以及计算牙骨质生长的年轮来估计年龄。对这四个物种各自所得结果的比较显示：（1）蝶枕软骨结合的牙齿替换和骨化均有一种单一模式；（2）蝶骨前部软骨结合有两种骨化模式；（3）颞嵴和矢状嵴发育有一种共同模式，呈现出不同程度的形态学表现；（4）有证据表明异时过程——幼态持续，参与了猞猁属几个种群和物种的形态分化。这些数据也支持了如下假说：裂齿替换过程基于功能需求。
