New perspectives on body size and shape evolution in dinosaurs.

ABSTRACT: Diversity in the body shapes and sizes of dinosaurs was foundational to their widespread success during the Mesozoic era. The ability to quantify body size and form reliably is therefore critical to the study of dinosaur biology and evolution. Body mass estimates for any given fossil animal are, in theory, most informative when derived from volumetric models that account for the three-dimensional shapes of the entire body. In addition to providing estimates of total body mass, volumetric approaches can be used to determine the inertial properties of specific body segments and the overall distribution of mass throughout the body, each of which are essential for the modelling and interpretation of form-function relationships and their associations with ecology. However, the determination of

SUBMITTER: Dempsey M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12407065 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature