Humerus midshaft histology in a modern and fossil wombat
Meg M. Walker A F , Julien Louys B , Andy I. R. Herries C D , Gilbert J. Price E and Justyna J. Miszkiewicz A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Australian National University, 44 Linnaeus Way, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
B Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, Qld 4111, Australia.
C Palaeoscience, Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Melbourne Campus, Bundoora, Vic. 3086, Australia.
D Centre for Anthropological Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Bunting Road Campus, Auckland Park, Gauteng, South Africa.
E School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld 4072, Australia.
F Corresponding author. Email: walker.meg1@gmail.com
Australian Mammalogy 43(1) 30-39 https://doi.org/10.1071/AM20005
Submitted: 31 January 2020 Accepted: 26 May 2020 Published: 17 June 2020
Abstract
The common wombat (Vombatus ursinus) is equipped with a set of physiological and morphological adaptations suited to a fossorial lifestyle. These allow wombats to engage in efficient scratch-digging and maintaining a low basal metabolic rate while living underground. While bone microstructure has been described for several subterranean animals, wombat bone histology has received very little attention to date. Here, we present preliminary insights into bone histology in modern adult V. ursinus (Mt Fairy, New South Wales) and Pleistocene fossil Vombatus sp. (Bakers Swamp, New South Wales) midshaft humeri. The modern sample was well preserved, allowing us to identify varying bone tissue types (woven, parallel-fibred, lamellar). The sample showed vascularity composed of primary and secondary osteons, and simple longitudinal and radial vessels. We also observed evidence for Haversian remodelling (i.e. localised replacement of pre-existing bone) and coarse compact cancellous bone within the inner cortex of the diaphysis. The fossil histology was poorly preserved, but likely showed bone matrix organisation similar to the modern specimen. We use these preliminary data to discuss hypotheses for wombat forelimb biomechanical and physiological microscopic adaptation to a burrow environment. We encourage future intraskeletal examination of microstructure in wombat populations to better inform their ecological adaptations and behaviour in palaeontological contexts.
Additional keywords: biomechanics, forelimb, marsupials, microstructure, Pleistocene.
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