Helically arranged cross struts in azhdarchid pterosaur cervical vertebrae and their biomechanical implications.

ABSTRACT: Azhdarchid pterosaurs, the largest flying vertebrates, remain poorly understood, with fundamental aspects of their palaeobiology unknown. X-ray computed tomography reveals a complex internal micro-architecture for three-dimensionally preserved, hyper-elongate cervical vertebrae of the Cretaceous azhdarchid pterosaur, Alanqa sp. Incorporation of the neural canal within the body of the vertebra and elongation of the centrum result in a "tube within a tube" supported by helically distributed trabeculae. Linear elastic static analysis and linearized buckling analysis, accompanied with a finite element model, reveal that as few as 50 trabeculae increase the buckling load by up to 90%, implying that a vertebra without the trabeculae is more prone to elastic instability due to axial loads.

SUBMITTER: Williams CJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8101050 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature