[The supra-occipital bone in cetaceans and burrowing rodents. morphological convergence induced by the post-cephalic...

A comparative study of the cranial morphologies of cetaceans and of rodents that use their incisors for burrowing brings out morphological convergences concerning the supra-occipital bone. These phyletically very remote groups are both subject to the same mechanical constraint, viz. the need for the spinal column to be aligned with the anteroposterior axis of the skull. This constraint, which is related to swimming in cetaceans and burrowing in rodents, entails three major points of convergence: 1) a clearly backward facing foramen magnum; 2) a shortened or even greatly shortened neck, sometimes with cervical vertebrae fused together; and 3) an uprighted or even forward tilted supra-occipital bone.