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Updated: Oct 15, 2025

Reverse Dissection and DiceCT Reveal Otherwise Hidden Data in the Evolution of the Primate Face
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Mammalian face as an evolutionary novelty.

Hiroki Higashiyama1, Daisuke Koyabu2,3, Tatsuya Hirasawa4,5

  • 1Department of Physiological Chemistry and Metabolism, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan; h-hiroki@m.u-tokyo.ac.jp.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|October 30, 2021
PubMed
Summary

The mammalian face evolved uniquely, with the premaxilla forming the nose, not the upper jaw. This evolutionary novelty arose from a mammalian-specific developmental process involving the maxillary prominence.

Keywords:
craniofacialevolutionmammalsskull

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary developmental biology
  • Comparative craniofacial anatomy
  • Mammalian evolution

Background:

  • Mammalian facial structure, particularly the premaxilla's role in nose formation, differs significantly from other tetrapods.
  • Understanding the evolutionary origins of the mammalian face requires comparative analysis of craniofacial development across tetrapod lineages.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the homology of the therian (placental and marsupial) premaxilla compared to nontherian amniotes.
  • To elucidate the developmental origins of the mammalian upper jaw and its unique facial morphology.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of topographical relationships of craniofacial primordia and nerve supplies in various tetrapod embryos.
  • Experimental inhibition of primordial growth during embryonic development.
  • Cell lineage tracing in transgenic mice.

Main Results:

  • The therian premaxilla is a composite structure, incorporating elements not homologous to the premaxilla of other amniotes.
  • The mammalian premaxilla predominantly originates from the maxillary prominence, linked to the mandibular arch, unlike in other tetrapods.
  • Experimental and lineage tracing data confirm mammalian-specific rostral growth of the maxillary prominence contributing to the upper jaw.

Conclusions:

  • The mammalian muzzle represents an evolutionary novelty, achieved by modifying ancestral developmental pathways.
  • The unique topographical framework of the mammalian craniofacial mesenchyme is a key factor in this evolutionary innovation.