Convex-hull mass estimates of the dodo (Raphus cucullatus): application of a CT-based mass estimation technique.

ABSTRACT: The external appearance of the dodo (Raphus cucullatus, Linnaeus, 1758) has been a source of considerable intrigue, as contemporaneous accounts or depictions are rare. The body mass of the dodo has been particularly contentious, with the flightless pigeon alternatively reconstructed as slim or fat depending upon the skeletal metric used as the basis for mass prediction. Resolving this dichotomy and obtaining a reliable estimate for mass is essential before future analyses regarding dodo life history, physiology or biomechanics can be conducted. Previous mass estimates of the dodo have relied upon predictive equations based upon hind limb dimensions of extant pigeons. Yet the hind limb proportions of dodo have been found to differ considerably from those of their modern relatives, particula

SUBMITTER: Brassey CA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4715441 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature