Numbat jaw muscles in 3D

Lead researchers

Vanessa Thomas

Vanessa Thomas

Recent MU Honours graduate in the school of Medical, Molecular and Forensic Sciences.

Dr Jeremy Shaw

Dr Jeremy Shaw

Director CMCA

Natasha Tay

Natasha Tay

Research Associate - Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University

View staff profile
Natalie Warburton

Natalie Warburton

Associate Professor, Centre for Terrestrial Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University

View staff profile
Chudtich jaw muscles & Numbat jaw muscles

A collaboration between Murdoch University researchers and the Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis (CMCA at UWA) is shedding new light on the anatomy of Western Australian wildlife.

Numbats are the only strictly termite-eating marsupials. They are endangered and only found in a few small areas of south-west Western Australia.

Numbats have evolved a range of adaptations to collect their tiny prey, including a long snout, a very long stick tongue and powerful forelimbs with long claws to break into termite nests.

 

In a study just published in the Journal of Morphology, we compared the jaw muscle anatomy of the numbat to its carnivorous relatives.

 


The jaw muscles of the numbat were greatly reduced in size and complexity in comparison to quolls, such as our native chuditch. This finding corresponds with their reduced dentition and the observation that numbats don’t chew their food – they just swallow termites whole. However, we also found an interesting change in the anatomy of the muscle that opens the mouth suggesting adaptations of the actions of the tongue.

Using contrast enhanced microCT, this study is the first to describe the arrangement of the jaw muscles in these marsupials and provides a new view on how these animals have evolved to collect and process their chosen prey.  

 

Read More

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jmor.21684

 

Read more about the researchers
Vanessa Thomas, Recent MU Honours graduate in the school of Medical, Molecular and Forensic Sciences.

Dr Jeremy Shaw (UWA), Director CMCA.

Natasha Tay, PhD candidate in Harry Butler Institute of Research at Murdoch University.
 

Natalie Warburton, Associate Professor


Project partners and collaborators

Lead researchers

Vanessa Thomas
Vanessa Thomas

Recent MU Honours graduate in the school of Medical, Molecular and Forensic Sciences.

Dr Jeremy Shaw
Dr Jeremy Shaw

Director CMCA

Natasha Tay
Natasha Tay

Research Associate - Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University

View staff profile
Natalie Warburton
Natalie Warburton

Associate Professor, Centre for Terrestrial Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University

View staff profile

Lead researchers

Vanessa Thomas

Vanessa Thomas

Recent MU Honours graduate in the school of Medical, Molecular and Forensic Sciences.

Dr Jeremy Shaw

Dr Jeremy Shaw

Director CMCA

Natasha Tay

Natasha Tay

Research Associate - Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University

View staff profile
Natalie Warburton

Natalie Warburton

Associate Professor, Centre for Terrestrial Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University

View staff profile