New Insights into the Bear Skulls from Windener Brenhhle - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

New Insights into the Bear Skulls from Windener Bärenhöhle (Burgenland, Austria) Gerhard Withalm & Stefan Meng ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

The Windener Bärenhöhle (2911/1) ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

The Windener Bärenhöhle (2911/1) ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

Windener Bärenhöhle - Groundmap ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

Introduction There are two bear skulls from Windener Bärenhöhle (Burgenland, Austria), which repeatedly occur in the relevant literature because of their interesting morphology. These skulls were excavated during the 30ies of the last century and were first described by Kurt EHRENBERG (1938) and firstly referred to – in doubt – as Ursus spelaeus in an article on the excavations in Windener Bärenhöhle. Based on their flat skull (missing glabella), their dentition and their supposed Late Pleistocene age he concluded, that these skulls must have belonged to a hybrid between cave- and brown bear or, less likely, to a not yet fully developed cave bear. � KOBY (1944) rejected the hybridization-hypothesis of Ehrenberg. Later on these skulls were reviewed in an article on Austrian cave bears and their problems, published by SPAHNI in 1954. In this article he attributed these skulls to U. spelaeus , regardless of their morphology. � ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

Introduction Later on THENIUS (1956) reviewed the material and referred the skulls to Ursus arctos priscus Goldfuss, a member of the brown bear group, which was the state of knowledge until 2004. � In the sense of THENIUS (1956) U. a. priscus is a big brown bear that coexisted with the cave bear group during Late Pleistocene, equipped with several characters that remind us on members of the cave bear group. Moreover it is distinguishable from fossil and extant brown bears by its morphology as well as its ecological needs. There are also some similarities with brown bears from Asia, especially with U. a. piscator and U. a. isabellinus . � Ursus arctos priscus (GOLDFUSS) is possibly synonymous with U. taubachensis RODE and with U. a. nemoralis (DEGERBØL). � ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

Introduction To resolve the problem of these skulls, Prof. Rabeder decided to ask Michael Hofreiter if he would be interested in this subject and he agreed. In 2004 the skulls were analyzed by means of palaeo-DNA-analysis, which was carried out by Michael Hofreiter from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig (Germany). � The results of this work lead to the attribution of these skulls to a typical Ursus arctos , interestingly of the West-group. So the systematic position of these skulls is clear by now. � ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

Dimensions of Skulls Distance Definition Skull 1 Skull 2 U. arctos U. arctos Serbia, IPUW Bosnia, IPUW Basilar length (prosthion – basion) 380 330 262 322 Cranial length (basion – postdentale) 207 180 139 179 Facial length (prosthion – postdentale) 173 150 123 143 Palatal length (prosthion – staphylion) 215 189 150 182 Width of mastoid 186 170 130 163 Width of condyli occipitales 81 71 66 69 Width of foramen magnum 34 33 33 33 Occipital height (basion – acrocranium) 106 94 76 89 Diastemal length 33 28 34 37 Palatal width (behind staphylion, min.) 56 48 44 50 Abbreviation: IPUW – Intitute of Palaeontology, University of Vienna, data from THENIUS (1956:157) � ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

Methods The specimens were scanned at the Department of Radiology of the Kaiser-Franz-Joseph-Spital, a hospital in the southern part of Vienna, with a dual source, multi-slice CT scanner (Somatom Definition, Siemens, Erlangen, Germany). The examinations were carried out during helical scanning (80 kVp, 160 mAs eff ) using a 20 x 0.6 mm detector configuration and a table feed of 8.4 mm per rotation. Axial sections were reconstructed every 0.3 mm with a section thickness of 0.6 mm. � Three-dimensional post-processing was performed with the Osirix 3.5.1, 64 bit (Antoine Rosset, Joris Heuberger) software on a Mac Pro Dual Quad-Core workstation (Apple Inc.). � ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

Siemens Somatom Definition Photo: Siemens � ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

Homo sapiens : The frontal Sinuses Photo: Grey's Anatomy, p. 159 � ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

The Frontal Sinuses of a Hog Preparation+ Photo: Uwe Gille � ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

Hyaena : The (frontal) Sinuses 3D reconstruction in sagittal section of extant Hyaena hyaena . Scan: VU-Wien, Insitut für Bildgebende Diagnostik, Dr. Elisabeth Mayrhofer, RTA: S. Dengg ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

A Bear for Comparison: Ursus thibetanus japonicus ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

Ursus thibetanus : 3D reconstruction ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

Ursus thibetanus : 3D, cutoff ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

What are sinuses good for? � To warm the air for breathing. � � To insulate against cold or high temperatures. � � To make a more impressive voice (resonance). � � To extend the area for the insertion of M. masseter. � � To provide weight reduction for the skull. � � To provide a little of all of the aforementioned. � � To … � ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

Premises � There is an observable difference in the construction of sinuses between brown- and cave bears. � � Brown bears usually do not have sinuses extending into the ossa parietalia, thus not covering the brain cavity. � � Cave bears usually have sinuses extending into the ossa parietalia, covering the brain cavity up to two third of its 
 a/p length. � � The relatively smallest sinuses can be found in Ursus maritimus . � � ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

Another Bear for Comparison: Ursus ingressus ex Medvedia jask ý na ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

Ursus ingressus ex Medvedia jask ý na Sutura coronalis � Cellula sinus frontalis � Sutura lambdoidea � Sutura frontomaxillaris � Sutura nasomaxillaris � Sutura Meatus acusticus Sutura squamosa � zygomaticomaxillaris � externus � ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

Ursus ingressus ex Medvedia jask ý na ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

Ursus ingressus ex Medvedia jask ý na ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

Ursus ingressus ex Medvedia jask ý na Sutura squamosa Sutura coronalis Septum intersinuale frontale Sutura frontalis Sutura nasomaxillaris Sutura frontomaxillaris Apertura sinus Sutura Sutura lambdoidea frontalis zygomaticomaxillaris ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

The Bear Skulls from Windener Bärenhöhle ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

The Big Skull in Lateral View ex: THENIUS, 1956:Taf. 1 ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

The Big Skull in Basilar View ex: THENIUS, 1956:Taf. 1 ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

Description � The skulls are flat, i.e. there is nothing like a glabella. Many extant brown bears have a more domed forehead. � � Only the skull of U. maritimus shows an even flatter profile. � � The occlusal surfaces of the teeth are more intensely folded than in an extant brown bears. � � Their size is impressive. � ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

The Big Skull: 3D-Reconstruction ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

The Big Skull: 3D, transparent ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

The Big Skull: 3D, transparent, cut off ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

The small skull: sagittal section ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

The Small Skull: 3D, transparent ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

The Small Skull: 3D, transparent, cut off ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

The Small Skull, sliced. ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

The Small Skull: 3D, cutoff ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

Ursus ingressus vs. Ursus arctos ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

Conclusions � We do not know enough about construction and functionality of the sinuses within fossil and extant ursids. � � More information about morphology of sinuses should be collected whenever and wherever possible. � � It's probably time for a cooperation with (veterinary) medicine to enlighten the functionality of sinuses. � ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �

That's all. That's all. Thanks for your attention! Thanks for your attention! ICBS 2009, Spi š ska Nova Vés, Slovakia �