Skull evolution

Skull evolution · 26. May 2022

Skull sutures in early "anapsids" - what can they tell us about the evolution of temporal openings?

Temporal openings likely formed by the reduction of functionally "unneeded" areas in the temporal dermatocranium. We analyzed the skull sutures in the early amniote Captorhinus aguti to check whether potential pre-stages for temporal openings can be found in an early "anapsid".

Review on the temporal skull region in tetrapods - the big question of temporal fenestrae

Me and Ingmar Werneburg (Senckenberg Centre, University of Tübingen) published a review paper on the morphology and macroevolution of the temporal skull region in Tetrapoda in Biological Reviews. Next to a general overview about the research history of the temporal region, we provide a new morphological classification scheme based on the number and arrangement of temporal openings. This study forms part of my doctoral thesis.