Modularity and heterochrony in the evolution of the ceratopsian dinosaur frill.

ABSTRACT: The fossil record provides compelling examples of heterochrony at macroevolutionary scales such as the peramorphic giant antlers of the Irish elk. Heterochrony has also been invoked in the evolution of the distinctive cranial frill of ceratopsian dinosaurs such as Triceratops. Although ceratopsian frills vary in size, shape, and ornamentation, quantitative analyses that would allow for testing hypotheses of heterochrony are lacking. Here, we use geometric morphometrics to examine frill shape variation across ceratopsian diversity and within four species preserving growth series. We then test whether the frill constitutes an evolvable module both across and within species, and compare growth trajectories of taxa with ontogenetic growth series to identify heterochronic processes. Evol

SUBMITTER: Prieto-Marquez A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7381594 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature