Distinguishing species with Geometric Morphometrics

Megan Wyatt’s thesis using geometric morphometrics to distinguish the dentition of Chaetodipus and Perognathus came out in the Journal of Mammalogy, only a year after she defended the work as her Clark Honors College thesis! This paper demonstrated that these two heteromyid genera, previously regarded as osteologically cryptic, can be distinguished using GM techniques on upper or lower jaws. This is a great jumping-off point for research into the paleontological record of the ChaetodipusPerognathus split, inferred from molecular evidence to date to the middle Miocene. Go read it for yourself! https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyab052