Inferring lifestyle for Aves and Theropoda: A model based on curvatures of extant avian ungual bones.

ABSTRACT: Claws are involved in a number of behaviours including locomotion and prey capture, and as a result animals evolve claw morphologies that enable these functions. Past authors have found geometry of the keratinous sheath of the claw to correlate with mode of life for extant birds and squamates; this relationship has frequently been cited to infer lifestyles for Mesozoic theropods including Archaeopteryx. However, many fossil claws lack keratinous sheaths and thus cannot be analysed using current methods. As the ungual phalanx within the claw is more commonly preserved in the fossil record, geometry of this bone may provide a more useful metric for paleontological analysis. In this study, ungual bones of 108 birds and 5 squamates were imaged using X-ray techniques and a relationship was foun

SUBMITTER: Cobb SE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7001973 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature