Macroevolutionary patterns in the pelvis, stylopodium and zeugopodium of megalosauroid theropod dinosaurs and their importance for locomotor function.

ABSTRACT: During the Mesozoic, non-avian theropods represented one of the most successful clades globally distributed, with a wide diversity of forms. An example is the clade Megalosauroidea, which included medium- to large-bodied forms. Here, we analyse the macroevolution of the locomotor system in early Theropoda, emphasizing the Megalosauroidea. We scored the Spinosaurus neotype in a published taxon-character matrix and described the associated modifications in character states, mapping them onto a phylogeny and using these to study disparity. In the evolution of Megalosauroidea, there was the mosaic emergence of a low swollen ridge; enlargement of the posterior brevis fossa and emergence of a posterodorsal process on the ilium in some megalosauroids; emergence of a femoral head oriented a

SUBMITTER: Lacerda MBS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10427828 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature