Tag: Win McLaughling

Hyenas through Space and Time: Using Teeth to Study Changing Ecological Niches

Presenter: Selina Robson

Faculty Mentor: Samantha Hopkins, Win McLaughling

Presentation Type: Oral

Primary Research Area: Science

Major: Geology, Psychology

Funding Source: Presidential Undergraduate Research Scholarship, University of Oregon $5,000; UROP Mini- grant, University of Oregon $1,000; Walter Youngquist Scholarship, Department of Geology at the University of Oregon, $1,500

The four modern hyena species are some of the most specialized carnivores on the planet. Three hyena species are bone-crushers—the only living mammals that are specialized for this—and one species is an insect eater, feeding on social insects such as termites. Hyenas are uniquely adapted for both of these diets. However, little is known about how hyenas evolved these capabilities. Unlike their modern relatives, the earliest hyenas were small omnivores that consumed plant material as well as meat. Some of these ancestral hyenas developed more carnivorous traits and eventually became the bone crushers we are familiar with today. We can study the evolution of hyena diets, and by extension hyena ecological niches, by examining the shape and proportions of their teeth. I have applied this method to a hyena species recently discovered in Kyrgyzstan. The new hyena, currently designated as Hyaenictitherium sp. nov., has transitional dentition indicating an omnivorous but meat-dominated diet. The hyena was alive approximately 7 million years ago, making it a relatively young species. I am examining the ecological niche of this new hyena and determining how the specimen enhances our understanding of hyena evolution. Then, I am looking at other hyena species to determine if hyenas are following previously hypothesized patterns of dietary and ecological change.

Identifying Fossils: Horses of Kyrgyzstan in the Miocene

Presenter(s): Dylan Carlini − Geology

Faculty Mentor(s): Samantha Hopkins, Win Mclaughlin

Oral Session 4O

Research Area: Earth and Biological Science

In paleontology, correct identification of fossils is of paramount importance to the scientific process. In locations with sparse fossil records and little preexisting literature, such as Kyrgyzstan, fossil identification can be particularly difficult. For this study, I identified two previously unidentified specimens from the University of Oregon Kyrgyz fossil collection as a mandible and a cheek tooth from the genus Hipparion, a member of family Equidae. Following a review of relevant paleontological literature, I used digital calipers to gather precise measurements of the specimens and conducted a careful analysis of tooth cusp morphology in order to make the determination. While the two specimens cannot be definitively attributed to the same individual, I determined that both came from adult individuals of the genus Hipparion. Using tooth morphology from the mandible, I also estimated the age of the individual at the time of death. These identifications add to our knowledge of the biodiversity of Miocene central Asia. Additionally, this study serves to demonstrate the process of fossil identification.