Granjon, L. | Search bioRxiv

bioRxiv2017

AWARENESS OF THE OUTCOME OF SELF-INITIATED POINTING ACTIONS

Are we aware of the outcome of our actions? The participants pointed rapidly at a screen location marked by a transient visual target (T), with and without seeing their hand, and were asked to estimate (E) their landing location (L) using the same finger but without time constraints. We found that L and E are systematically and idiosyncratically shifted away from their corresponding targets (T, L), suggesting unawareness. Moreover, E was biased away from L, toward T (21% and 37%, with and without visual feedback), in line with a putative Bayesian account of the results, assuming a strong prior in the absence of vision. However, L (the assumed prior) and E (the assumed posterior) precisions were practically identical, arguing against such an account of the results. Instead, the results are well accounted for by a simple model positing that the participants E is set to the planned rather than the actual L. When asked to estimate their landing location, participants appeared to reenact their original motor plan.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2017

Fossils know it best: using a new set of fossil calibrations to improve the temporal phylogenetic framework of murid rodents (Rodentia: Myomorpha: Muroidea: Muridae)

Murid rodents (Rodentia: Myomorpha: Muroidea: Muridae) represent the most diverse and abundant mammalian group. In this study, we reconstruct a dated phylogeny of the family using a multilocus dataset (six nuclear and nine mitochondrial gene fragments) encompassing 160 species representing 82 distinct murid genera from four extant subfamilies (Deomyinae, Gerbillinae, Lophiomyinae, and Murinae). In comparison with previous studies on murid or muroid rodents, our work stands out for the implementation of multiple fossil constraints within the Muridae thanks to a thorough review of the fossil record. Before being assigned to specific nodes of the phylogeny, all potential fossil constraints were carefully assessed; they were also subjected to several cross-validation analyses. The resulting phylogeny is consistent with previous phylogenetic studies on murids, and recovers the monophyly of all sampled murid subfamilies and tribes. Based on nine controlled fossil calibrations, our inferred temporal timeframe indicates that the murid family likely originated in the course of the Early Miocene, 23.0-16.0 million years ago (Ma), and that most major lineages (i.e. tribes) have started diversifying ca. 10 Ma. Historical biogeography analyses support the Paleotropical origin for the family, with an initial internal split (vicariance event) followed by subsequent migrations between Afrotropical and Indomalayan lineages. During the course of their diversification, the biogeographic pattern of murids is marked by several dispersal events toward the Australasian and the Palearctic regions, mostly from the Indomalaya. The Afrotropical region was also secondarily colonized at least three times from the Indomalaya, indicating that the latter region has acted as a major centre of diversification for the family.

zoology↗