Comparative morphology and evolution of cheek pouches in rodents

There are two types of cheek pouches in extant rodents. Internal cheek pouches are evaginations of the oral cavity deep to M. platysma and M. sphincter colli profundus, and have evolved independently in some species of the superfamilies Sciuroidea and Muroidea. External, furlined cheek pouches open lateral to and separate from the oral cavity, (also deep to M. platysma and M. sphincter colli profundus), and occur in all species of the families Geomyidae and Heteromyidae. The presence of external, furlined cheek pouches is a synapomorphy for the superfamily Geomyoidea. The posterior retractor muscle of the pouch is derived from facial musculature in sciurids, from trapezius musculature in cricetids, and from both facial and trapezius muscle groups in the Geomyoidea. Differences also exist in the musculature associated with the pouch opening. In the Sciuridae and Cricetidae, the M. buccinatorius muscle group acts as a sphincter to control the size of the pouch opening. In the Geomyoidea, the size of the opening is controlled by the M. orbicularis sacculi in concert with a slip of the M. platysma myoides. Thin sections and scanning electron micrographs of the pouch tissue reveal the presence of dermal papillae in Phodopus sungorus but not in a close relative, Mesocricetus auratus. All members of the subfamily Cricetinae have a peninsula of highly folded tissue projecting anteriorly from the posteromedial pouch wall. This folding allows for expansion of the pouch walls when food is stored in the pouch.