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The evolutionary history of cetacean brain and body size

Montgomery, SH; Geisler, JH; McGowen, MR; Fox, C; Marino, L; Gatesy, J; (2013) The evolutionary history of cetacean brain and body size. Evolution , 67 (11) pp. 3339-3353. 10.1111/evo.12197. Green open access

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Abstract

Cetaceans rival primates in brain size relative to body size and include species with the largest brains and biggest bodies to have ever evolved. Cetaceans are remarkably diverse, varying in both phenotypes by several orders of magnitude, with notable differences between the two extant suborders, Mysticeti and Odontoceti. We analyzed the evolutionary history of brain and body mass, and relative brain size measured by the encephalization quotient (EQ), using a data set of extinct and extant taxa to capture temporal variation in the mode and direction of evolution. Our results suggest that cetacean brain and body mass evolved under strong directional trends to increase through time, but decreases in EQ were widespread. Mysticetes have significantly lower EQs than odontocetes due to a shift in brain:body allometry following the divergence of the suborders, caused by rapid increases in body mass in Mysticeti and a period of body mass reduction in Odontoceti. The pattern in Cetacea contrasts with that in primates, which experienced strong trends to increase brain mass and relative brain size, but not body mass. We discuss what these analyses reveal about the convergent evolution of large brains, and highlight that until recently the most encephalized mammals were odontocetes, not primates.

Type: Article
Title: The evolutionary history of cetacean brain and body size
Location: United States
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1111/evo.12197
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/evo.12197
Language: English
Additional information: This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Montgomery, SH; Geisler, JH; McGowen, MR; Fox, C; Marino, L; Gatesy, J; (2013) The evolutionary history of cetacean brain and body size. Evolution, 67 (11) pp. 3339-3353. 10.1111/evo.12197, which has been published in final form at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/evo.12197. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving (http://olabout.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-820227.html#terms).
Keywords: Brain size, body size, cetaceans, dolphins, encephalization, evolution, macroevolution, whales, Animals, Biological Evolution, Body Weight, Brain, Cetacea, Fossils, Phylogeny, Primates
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1477166
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