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<p>The giant dormouse <i>Hypnomys</i> is endemic to the Balearic archipelago (Western Mediterranean) and comprises four chronospecies in Menorca and four in Mallorca. <i>Hypnomys</i> colonized Mallorca during the Messinian salinity crisis (Upper Miocene). During the Upper Pliocene, <i>Hypnomys</i> arrived in Menorca from Mallorca, developing a phyletic independent line of the Mallorcan one. The main objective of this work is to study the surface area occupied by the perforations of the cribriform plate and its implications for the sense of olfaction of <i>Hypnomys</i>. To this end, we examined the cribriform plate in a partial skull of <i>Hypnomys</i> sp<i>.</i> of the Upper Pleistocene-Holocene recovered from the Ses Tapareres Cave (northwest of Ciutadella de Menorca, Balearic Islands) that corroborated previous observations regarding the olfactory capabilities of <i>Hypnomys</i>. In contrast to other extinct island mammals of much larger size, such as the bovid <i>Myotragus balearicus</i> and the giant lagomorph&#xa0;<i>Nuralagus rex</i>, the sensory systems of <i>Hypnomys</i> were more developed. Specifically, its visual and auditory senses were well developed too. Despite evolving in an island ecosystem devoid of terrestrial predators, the well-developed vision and hearing likely contributed to survival under predation pressure from birds of prey. Additionally, the enhanced olfactory capabilities may have conferred an evolutionary advantage by enabling a more opportunistic feeding strategy, facilitating the detection and exploitation of a wider variety of food sources.</p>

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The cribriform plate of Hypnomys Bate, 1918 (Rodentia: Gliridae)

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年8月6日

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  • Josep Quintana Cardona,
  • Miquel Riera Pons

摘要

The giant dormouse Hypnomys is endemic to the Balearic archipelago (Western Mediterranean) and comprises four chronospecies in Menorca and four in Mallorca. Hypnomys colonized Mallorca during the Messinian salinity crisis (Upper Miocene). During the Upper Pliocene, Hypnomys arrived in Menorca from Mallorca, developing a phyletic independent line of the Mallorcan one. The main objective of this work is to study the surface area occupied by the perforations of the cribriform plate and its implications for the sense of olfaction of Hypnomys. To this end, we examined the cribriform plate in a partial skull of Hypnomys sp. of the Upper Pleistocene-Holocene recovered from the Ses Tapareres Cave (northwest of Ciutadella de Menorca, Balearic Islands) that corroborated previous observations regarding the olfactory capabilities of Hypnomys. In contrast to other extinct island mammals of much larger size, such as the bovid Myotragus balearicus and the giant lagomorph Nuralagus rex, the sensory systems of Hypnomys were more developed. Specifically, its visual and auditory senses were well developed too. Despite evolving in an island ecosystem devoid of terrestrial predators, the well-developed vision and hearing likely contributed to survival under predation pressure from birds of prey. Additionally, the enhanced olfactory capabilities may have conferred an evolutionary advantage by enabling a more opportunistic feeding strategy, facilitating the detection and exploitation of a wider variety of food sources.