Ontogeny of the cranial system in Laonastes aenigmamus

Rodents, together with bats, are among the ecologically most diverse and most speciose groups of mammals. Moreover, rodents show elaborate specializations of the feeding apparatus in response to the predominantly fore-aft movements of the lower jaw. The Laotian rock rat Laonastes aenigmamus was recently discovered and originally thought to belong to a new family. The difficulties in classifying L. aenigmamus based on morphological characters stem from the fact that it presents a mixture of sciurognathous and hystricognathous characteristics, including the morphology of the jaw adductors. The origin of the unusual muscular organization in this species remains, however, unclear. Here, we investigate the development of the masticatory system in Laonastes to better understand the origin of its derived morphology relative to other rodents. Our analyses show that skull and mandible development is characterized by an overall elongation of the snout region. Muscle mass increases with positive allometry during development and growth, and so does the force-generating capacity of the jaw adductor muscles (i.e. physiological cross-sectional area). Whereas fetal crania and musculature are more similar to those of typical rodents, adults diverge in the elongation of the rostral part of the skull and the disproportionate development of the zygomaticomandibularis. Our data suggest a functional signal in the development of the unusual cranial morphology, possibly associated with the folivorous trophic ecology of the species.