TY - JOUR UR - https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.811v2 DO - 10.7287/peerj.preprints.811v2 TI - Morphological diversity in tenrecs (Afrosoricida, Tenrecidae): comparing tenrec skull diversity to their closest relatives AU - Finlay,Sive AU - Cooper,Natalie DA - 2015/03/27 PY - 2015 KW - golden moles KW - geometric morphometrics KW - disparity KW - morphology AB - It is important to quantify patterns of morphological diversity to enhance our understanding of variation in ecological and evolutionary traits. Here, we present a quantitative analysis of morphological diversity in a family of small mammals, the tenrecs (Afrosoricida, Tenrecidae). Tenrecs are often cited as an example of an exceptionally morphologically diverse group. However, this assumption has not been tested quantitatively. We use geometric morphometric analyses of skull shape to test whether tenrecs are more morphologically diverse than their closest relatives, the golden moles (Afrosoricida, Chrysochloridae). Tenrecs occupy a wider range of ecological niches than golden moles so we predict that they will be more morphologically diverse. Contrary to our expectations, we find that tenrec skulls are only more morphologically diverse than golden moles when measured in lateral view. Furthermore, similarities among the species-rich Microgale tenrec genus appear to mask higher morphological diversity in the rest of the family. These results reveal new insights into the morphological diversity of tenrecs and highlight the importance of using quantitative methods to test qualitative assumptions about patterns of morphological diversity. VL - 3 SP - e811v2 T2 - PeerJ PrePrints JO - PeerJ PrePrints J2 - PeerJ PrePrints SN - 2167-9843 ER -