10.5061/DRYAD.MT57R
Clement, Alice M.
Uppsala University
Nysjö, Johan
Uppsala University
Strand, Robin
Uppsala University
Ahlberg, Per E.
Uppsala University
Data from: Brain – endocast relationship in the Australian lungfish,
Neoceratodus forsteri, elucidated from tomographic data (Sarcopterygii:
Dipnoi)
Dryad
dataset
2016
endocast
labyrinth region
neurocranium
Lungfish
Neoceratodus
2016-10-09T00:00:00Z
2016-10-09T00:00:00Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0141277
8856904 bytes
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CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Although the brains of the three extant lungfish genera have been
previously described, the spatial relationship between the brain and the
neurocranium has never before been fully described nor quantified. Through
the application of virtual microtomography (μCT) and 3D rendering
software, we describe aspects of the gross anatomy of the brain and
labyrinth region in the Australian lungfish, Neoceratodus forsteri and
compare this to previous accounts. Unexpected characters in this specimen
include short olfactory peduncles connecting the olfactory bulbs to the
telencephalon, and an oblong telencephalon. Furthermore, we illustrate the
endocast (the mould of the internal space of the neurocranial cavity) of
Neoceratodus, also describing and quantifying the brain-endocast
relationship in a lungfish for the first time. Overall, the brain of the
Australian lungfish closely matches the size and shape of the endocast
cavity housing it, filling more than four fifths of the total volume. The
forebrain and labyrinth regions of the brain correspond very well to the
endocast morphology, while the midbrain and hindbrain do not fit so
closely. Our results cast light on the gross neural and endocast anatomy
in lungfishes, and are likely to have particular significance for
palaeoneurologists studying fossil taxa.
Supplementary Information 1: Surface mesh distance scriptThe script
surf_dist.py computes the surface-to-surface distance between two aligned
STL models and displays the result as color-coded distance maps. It also
computes the mean absolute distance (MAD), the root-mean square (RMS)
distance, and the max absolute (Hausdorff) distance between the models and
writes the resulting distance values to a text
file.surf_dist.zipSupplementary Information 2: Surface mesh distance
animationSurface mesh distance animation, showing Endocast, Brain,
Overlay, Signed Distance Map and Unsigned Distance Map of the Australian
lungfish, Neoceratodus.S2_movie.m4v