Media 000461723: Cranium And Mandible
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Type Photogrammetry Image Series
Modality Photogrammetry
Media represents biological specimen
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GENERAL DETAILS Field Definitions

Media ID
000461723
Media type
Photogrammetry Image Series
Object element or part
Cranium and mandible
Object represented
Object taxonomy
Ramsayia magna
Side
Right
Orientation
Internal view
Short description
Internal view of cranium and mandible of Ramasyia magna
Full description
This specimen is reported and described in: Louys, J., Duval,M., Beck, R.M.D., Pease, E., Sobbe, I., Sands, N., Price, G.J. accepted 1/9/2022). Cranial remains of Ramsayia magna from the Late Pleistocene of Australia and the evolution of gigantism in wombats (Vombatidae; Marsupialia). Palaeontology. Abstract: Giant wombats (defined here as body mass ≥ 70 kg) are found in the genera Phascolonus, Ramsayia, and perhaps also Sedophascolomys. Of these, Ramsayia is the currently the most poorly known, having been described from fragmentary mandibular and cranial fragments. Here, we report the most complete cranial remains attributable to the genus, identified as the species R. magna. The remains provide new important insights into the anatomy of the species and the evolutionary adaptations to gigantism in Vombatidae. We record parietal sinuses in a vombatid for the first time, an adaptation to increased skull size relative to the braincase. The presence of a prominent premaxillary spine may indicate the species possessed a large, fleshy nose. Both of features are convergent on other large-bodied, non-vombatid extinct megaherbivores of Australia such as Diprotodon optatum. We use the cranial remains to examine the phylogenetic relationships of the giant wombats to other vombatids. Phylogenetic analysis using maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference indicates that Phascolomys, Ramsayia, and Sedophascolomys form a clade, suggesting a single origin of gigantism within Vombatidae. This origin may have been related to the exploitation of poor-quality foods by these taxa, and preceded the extreme specialisations observed in the incisor and cranial anatomy of the giant wombats. U-series and combined U-series and Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) dating methods were applied to one fossil tooth. All sources of uncertainty considered, age calculations systematically correlate the fossil remains to Marine Isotope Stage 5, and an age of approximately 80,000 years can be proposed for this specimen. With only a single well dated occurrence for this taxon, it is currently impossible to determine when and why R. magna became extinct.
Creator
Price, Gilbert J.
Date created
July 20, 2022
Date uploaded
September 20, 2022

FILE OBJECT DETAILS Field Definitions

File name
Ramsayia_magna_raw_images_of_internal_view_for_3D_model_QMF60370.zip
File format(s)
ZIP archive, JPEG
File size
1.43 GB
Image width
6000
Image height
4000
Color space
--
Color depth
8/8/8
Compression
JPEG (old-style)
Number of images in set
289

IMAGE ACQUISITION AND PROCESSING AT A GLANCE Field Definitions

Number of parent media
0
Number of processing events
0 (0 steps)
Modality
Photogrammetry
Device
Nikon D5200, Palaeo Lab at The University of Queensland (University of Queensland)

OWNERSHIP AND PERMISSIONS Field Definitions

Data managed by
Data uploaded by
Publication status
Open Download
Download reviewer
IP holder
Gilbert Price
Morphosource use agreement type
Standard
Permits commercial use
Commercial Use Not Permitted
Permits 3D use
3D Printing Permitted
Required archival of published derivatives
Encouraged But Not Required
Funding attribution
--
Publisher
--
Cite as
--
Media preview mode
Interactive/Embeddable
Additional usage agreement
None

IDENTIFIERS AND EXTERNAL LINKS Field Definitions

MorphoSource ARK
MorphoSource DOI
External identifier
--
External media URL
--

IMAGE ACQUISITION AND PROCESSING IN DETAIL

STEP 1: IMAGE ACQUISITION

Physical object QM:F:60370 was imaged to create this media.

IMAGING DETAILS Field Definitions

Modality
Photogrammetry
Device
Nikon D5200
Device facility
Palaeo Lab at The University of Queensland (University of Queensland)
Creator
Price, Gilbert J.
Event date
July 20, 2022
Software
Agisoft Metashape
Description
This specimen is reported and described in: Louys, J., Duval,M., Beck, R.M.D., Pease, E., Sobbe, I., Sands, N., Price, G.J. accepted 1/9/2022). Cranial remains of Ramsayia magna from the Late Pleistocene of Australia and the evolution of gigantism in wombats (Vombatidae; Marsupialia). Palaeontology. Abstract: Giant wombats (defined here as body mass ≥ 70 kg) are found in the genera Phascolonus, Ramsayia, and perhaps also Sedophascolomys. Of these, Ramsayia is the currently the most poorly known, having been described from fragmentary mandibular and cranial fragments. Here, we report the most complete cranial remains attributable to the genus, identified as the species R. magna. The remains provide new important insights into the anatomy of the species and the evolutionary adaptations to gigantism in Vombatidae. We record parietal sinuses in a vombatid for the first time, an adaptation to increased skull size relative to the braincase. The presence of a prominent premaxillary spine may indicate the species possessed a large, fleshy nose. Both of features are convergent on other large-bodied, non-vombatid extinct megaherbivores of Australia such as Diprotodon optatum. We use the cranial remains to examine the phylogenetic relationships of the giant wombats to other vombatids. Phylogenetic analysis using maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference indicates that Phascolomys, Ramsayia, and Sedophascolomys form a clade, suggesting a single origin of gigantism within Vombatidae. This origin may have been related to the exploitation of poor-quality foods by these taxa, and preceded the extreme specialisations observed in the incisor and cranial anatomy of the giant wombats. U-series and combined U-series and Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) dating methods were applied to one fossil tooth. All sources of uncertainty considered, age calculations systematically correlate the fossil remains to Marine Isotope Stage 5, and an age of approximately 80,000 years can be proposed for this specimen. With only a single well dated occurrence for this taxon, it is currently impossible to determine when and why R. magna became extinct.
Description attachment
None
Reference attachment
None
Lens
Nikon AF-S Micro 40mm
Other details
--

Media produced by this event on MorphoSource

Media 000461723: Cranium And Mandible [PhotogrammetryImageSeries] [Photogram] (this media)