Phenotypic diversification of extinct and endemic Lesser Antillean rice rats (Oryzomyini tribe): combined geometric morphometrics analysis of archaeological teeth and mandibles
Résumé
Nowadays, rice rats (Oryzomyini tribe) have a large taxonomic diversity on the
American continent. Yet, they used to be present in the Lesser Antilles before their
disappearance following the European colonisation. These extinct insular
representatives have been the subject of numerous studies including genetic and
morphometric, and anatomical descriptions aiming to understand their past diversity.
Three genera specific to this area are now known that could be associated with a
geographically structured phenotypic diversity. In our study, the combined analysis of
morphometric signals (sizes and shapes) from the teeth and mandibles of 215
specimens from 33 archaeological sites on 11 islands, highlights the presence of an
even larger diversity composed by 6 morphotypes and 11 sub-morphotypes. These
groups, which subdivide the three previous clusters, help to clarify the
archaeobiogeography of oryzomyine in the Lesser Antilles. These morphotypic
differences, which respect a geographical organisation, favour the hypothesis of
differentiation induced by population isolation within islands. However, the
coexistence of several sub-morphotypes on some of the islands may reveal
ecological differenciation. All together our data revealed a greater diversity than
known before for an extinct group of rice rats in the Lesser Antilles archipelago only
allowed by a bioarchaeological study combining multiple lines of evidence.