A new model of forelimb ecomorphology for predicting the ancient habitats of fossil turtles.

ABSTRACT: Various morphological proxies have been used to infer habitat preferences among fossil turtles and their early ancestors, but most are tightly linked to phylogeny, thereby minimizing their predictive power. One particularly widely used model incorporates linear measurements of the forelimb (humerus + ulna + manus), but in addition to the issue of phylogenetic correlation, it does not estimate the likelihood of habitat assignment. Here, we introduce a new model that uses intramanual measurements (digit III metacarpal + non-ungual phalanges + ungual) to statistically estimate habitat likelihood and that has greater predictive strength than prior estimators. Application of the model supports the hypothesis that stem-turtles were primarily terrestrial in nature and recovers the nanhsiungchelyi

SUBMITTER: Dudgeon TW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8668755 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature