Are endocasts good proxies for brain size and shape in archosaurs throughout ontogeny?

ABSTRACT: Cranial endocasts, or the internal molds of the braincase, are a crucial correlate for investigating the neuroanatomy of extinct vertebrates and tracking brain evolution through deep time. Nevertheless, the validity of such studies pivots on the reliability of endocasts as a proxy for brain morphology. Here, we employ micro-computed tomography imaging, including diffusible iodine-based contrast-enhanced CT, and a three-dimensional geometric morphometric framework to examine both size and shape differences between brains and endocasts of two exemplar archosaur taxa - the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) and the domestic chicken (Gallus gallus). With ontogenetic sampling, we quantitatively evaluate how endocasts differ from brains and whether this deviation changes during deve

SUBMITTER: Watanabe A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6365484 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature