How common are ring tails in basal placentals?
Rings of dark fur on mammal tails are superficial traits,
but they are also common among basal placentals – many of which we are lucky to have still living today (Fig 1).
Figure 1. Five extant basal placentals all display ringed tails.
” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/coatimundi_lemur_palmcivet_invivo588.jpg?w=129″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/coatimundi_lemur_palmcivet_invivo588.jpg?w=439″ class=”size-full wp-image-90222″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/coatimundi_lemur_palmcivet_invivo588.jpg” alt=”Figure 1. Five extant basal placentals all display ringed tails. ” width=”584″ height=”1361″ srcset=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/coatimundi_lemur_palmcivet_invivo588.jpg?w=584&h=1361 584w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/coatimundi_lemur_palmcivet_invivo588.jpg?w=64&h=150 64w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/coatimundi_lemur_palmcivet_invivo588.jpg?w=129&h=300 129w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/coatimundi_lemur_palmcivet_invivo588.jpg 588w” sizes=”(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px” />
Figure 1. Five extant basal placentals all display ringed tails.
Speaking of ringtails,
Bassariscus, THE ringtail, was just added to the large reptile tree (LRT, 2329 taxa) and – no surprise – it nested with Procyon, the raccoon.
This is odd.
Bassariscus has a typical mammal choanae = internal nares just behind the back molars. By contrast, Procyon has choanae aligned with the jaw joint.
Figure 2. Skull of Bassariscus in three views. Colors added here.
” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/bassariscus.skull588.jpg?w=195″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/bassariscus.skull588.jpg?w=584″ class=”size-full wp-image-90350″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/bassariscus.skull588.jpg” alt=”Figure 2. Skull of Bassariscus in three views. Colors added here. ” width=”584″ height=”899″ srcset=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/bassariscus.skull588.jpg?w=584&h=899 584w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/bassariscus.skull588.jpg?w=97&h=150 97w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/bassariscus.skull588.jpg?w=195&h=300 195w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/bassariscus.skull588.jpg 588w” sizes=”(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px” />
Figure 2. Skull of Bassariscus in three views. Colors added here.
Bassariscus astutus
(originally Bassaris Lichtenstein 1830, Coues 1887, smaller than a housecat) is the extant ringtail, a nocturnal raccoon relative. The ankle joint is able to rotate over 180 degrees, typical of arboreal primitive mammals. The orbits are more lateral in orientation. Young are born helpless. Lifespan is 7 years. Skull elements are fused. The jugal does not extend posteriorly.
Figure 1. Skulls of three basal placentals, Procyon, Nasua and Notharctus demonstrating subtle changes including the evolution of a parasagittal crest.
” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/procyon.nasua_.notharctus588.gif?w=163″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/procyon.nasua_.notharctus588.gif?w=558″ class=”size-full wp-image-90224″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/procyon.nasua_.notharctus588.gif” alt=”Figure 1. Skulls of three basal placentals, Procyon, Nasua and Notharctus demonstrating subtle changes including the evolution of a parasagittal crest.” width=”584″ height=”1073″ srcset=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/procyon.nasua_.notharctus588.gif?w=584&h=1073 584w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/procyon.nasua_.notharctus588.gif?w=82&h=150 82w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/procyon.nasua_.notharctus588.gif?w=163&h=300 163w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/procyon.nasua_.notharctus588.gif 588w” sizes=”(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px” />
Figure 3. Skulls of three basal placentals, Procyon, Nasua and Notharctus demonstrating subtle changes including the evolution of a parasagittal crest. Note the posterior choanae, close to the jaw joint, in Procyon and Nasua, the coatimundi. Compare to Bassariscus in figure 2.
Getting back to ring tails…
This may be phylogenetic, or it may be convergent. All these taxa are nocturnal, arboreal forest hunters. The rings may identify them to each other, stimulating the cones that only see black and white, are more sensitive in low light situations and are especially sensitive to detecting movement.
References
Coues E 1887. Bassariscus, a new generic name in mammalogy. Science. 9 (225): 516.
Lichtenstein 1830. Abh. König. Akad. Wiss., Berlin vol.1827 p.119.
wiki/Procyon
wiki/Bassaricus
wiki/Ringtail
Source: https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/2024/12/09/how-common-are-ring-tails-in-basal-placentals/
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