ArticleEvolutionary biology2020
Evolution of the Mammalian Ear: An Evolvability Hypothesis.
Article in Evolutionary biology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- A perspective from the Mesozoic: Evolutionary changes of the mammalian skull and their influence on feeding efficiency and high-frequency hearing.Anatomical record (Hoboken, N.J. : 2007) · 2026Review
- Evolutionary modularity of the primate vestibular system: Morphological distinction of otolithic and canalicular organs.PNAS nexus · 2026Article
- Is cranial anatomy indicative of fossoriality? A case study of the mammaliaform Hadrocodium wui.Anatomical record (Hoboken, N.J. : 2007) · 2025Article
- Making sense of vertebrate senses from a neural crest and cranial placode evo-devo perspective.Trends in neurosciences · 2025Review
- Pleiotropic function of Dlx5/6 in the development of mammalian vocal and auditory organs.PloS one · 2025Article
- Convergent evolution in Afrotheria and non-afrotherians demonstrates high evolvability of the mammalian inner ear.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Craniodental anatomy in Permian-Jurassic Cynodontia and Mammaliaformes (Synapsida, Therapsida) as a gateway to defining mammalian soft tissue and behavioural traits.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2023Review
- Early evolution of enamel matrix proteins is reflected by pleiotropy of physiological functions.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- First Attempt to Infer Sound Hearing and Its Paleoenvironmental Implications in the Extinct Insular CanidAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Encapsulated within the temporal bone and comprising the smallest elements of the vertebrate skeleton, the ear is key to multiple senses: balance, posture control, gaze stabilization, and hearing. The transformation of the primary jaw joint into the mammalian ear ossicles is one of the most iconic transitions in vertebrate evolution, but the drivers of this complex evolutionary trajectory are not fully understood. We propose a novel hypothesis: The incorporation of the bones of the primary jaw joint into the middle ear has considerably increased the genetic, regulatory, and developmental complexity of the mammalian ear. This increase in the number of genetic and developmental factors may, in turn, have increased the evolutionary degrees of freedom for independent adaptations of the different functional ear units. The simpler ear anatomy in birds and reptiles may be less susceptible to developmental instabilities and disorders than in mammals but also more constrained in its evolution. Despite the tight spatial entanglement of functional ear components, the increased "evolvability" of the mammalian ear may have contributed to the evolutionary success and adaptive diversification of mammals in the vast diversity of ecological and behavioral niches observable today. A brief literature review revealed supporting evidence for this hypothesis.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.