Artiodactyl "success" Over Perissodactyls In The Late Palaeogene Unlikely To Be Related To The Carotid Rete

Main Category: Biology / Biochemistry
Article Date: 08 Oct 2008 - 6:00 PDT

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The familiar story of the "evolutionary success" of artiodactyls (pigs, camels, deer, antelope, etc.) over perissodactyls (horses, rhinos, etc.) is somewhat of a misnomer.

In any event, it is unlikely that the possession of a carotid rete by artiodactyls contributed to their relatively greater diversification than perissodactyls following the late Eocene extinctions.

The types of extreme environments in which the rete may offer an advantage to today's artiodactyls did not exist until very recently, and the evolutionary patterns are better explained by differences in digestive physiology.

Royal Society journal Biology Letters

Biology Letters publishes short, innovative and cutting-edge research articles and opinion pieces accessible to scientists from across the biological sciences. The journal is characterised by stringent peer-review, rapid publication and broad dissemination of succinct high-quality research communications.

Biology Letters

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