Cranial ontogenetic variation in early saurischians and the role of heterochrony in the diversification of predatory dinosaurs.

ABSTRACT: Non-avian saurischian skulls underwent at least 165 million years of evolution and shapes varied from elongated skulls, such as in the theropod Coelophysis, to short and box-shaped skulls, such as in the sauropod Camarasaurus. A number of factors have long been considered to drive skull shape, including phylogeny, dietary preferences and functional constraints. However, heterochrony is increasingly being recognized as an important factor in dinosaur evolution. In order to quantitatively analyse the impact of heterochrony on saurischian skull shape, we analysed five ontogenetic trajectories using two-dimensional geometric morphometrics in a phylogenetic framework. This allowed for the comparative investigation of main ontogenetic shape changes and the evaluation of how heterochrony affected

SUBMITTER: Foth C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4734445 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature