Primate Nasal and Paranasal Morphology

The focus of my laboratory research is the internal anatomy of the primate and mammal facial skeleton. A large portion of this region is composed of the nasal cavity and associated structures, such as the paranasal sinuses and nasolacrimal system. I have now built a sizable database of cranial CT scans consisting of developmental series of 3 to 5 specimens for 29 genera of primates spanning the entire order. I am currently in the process of analyzing these data for strepsirrhines in order to determine which primates have which sinuses. In some primate clades, the presence of certain sinuses serves as a useful synapomorphy of higher taxa (e.g., the absence of ethmofrontal sinuses in orangutans and their fossil relatives.

The morphology of the nasolacrimal duct, and the canal that contains it, differs between the haplorrhine and strepsirrhine clades, and may be informative in assessing the phylogenetic affinities and sensory adaptations of early fossil members of the two groups (Rossie et al., 2006; Rossie & Smith, 2007; Rossie et al., 2018).

Anthropoids and Tarsiers

Strepsirrhines

Anterior cranial fossa and olfactory fossa of a loris.

Other Mammals

Scandentia

Coming soon...

Dermoptera

Coming soon...

Cretaceous Mammals

Vintana

Because the mammalian nasal region is so conservative, the insights gained into the development of this region in primates has opened up research opportunities involving a wide array of mammals, as illustrated by my work on the recently described Cretaceous Gondwanatherian mammal Vintana sertichi. The cranium of this mammal is highly specialized in many regards, but its nasal cavity is very similar to that seen in modern mammals.

Adalatherium