Published: 16 April 2024
Morphological disparity and structural performance of the dromaeosaurid skull informs ecology and evolutionary history
最近一个月内驰龙科和伤齿龙科的头部形态结构演化研究也值得一看
研究中，发现类似伶盗龙属细头是为驰龙科和伤齿龙科较为原始的形态，艾伯塔驰龙则是粗头衍生进步形态
哈兹卡盗龙吃的可能是昆虫什么的而不是鸬鹚一样抓鱼
Combining our new morphofunctional data with a re-evaluation of previous evidence, we find piscivorous reconstructions of Halszkaraptor escuilliei to be unlikely, and instead suggest an invertivorous diet and possible adaptations for feeding in murky water or other low-visibility conditions. We support Deinonychus antirrhopus as being adapted for taking large vertebrate prey, but we find that its skull is relatively less resistant to bite forces than other dromaeosaurids. Given the recovery of high bite force resistance for Velociraptor mongoliensis, which is believed to have regularly engaged in scavenging behaviour, we suggest that higher bite force resistance in a dromaeosaurid taxon may reflect a greater reliance on scavenging rather than fresh kills.
Comparisons to the troodontid Gobivenator mongoliensis suggest that a gracile rostrum like that of Velociraptor mongoliensis is ancestral to their closest common ancestor (Deinonychosauria) and the robust rostra of Dromaeosaurus albertensis and Deinonychus antirrhopus are a derived condition. Gobivenator mongoliensis also displays a higher jaw mechanical advantage and lower resistance to bite force than the examined dromaeosaurids, but given the hypothesised ecological divergence of troodontids from dromaeosaurids it is unclear which group, if either, represents the ancestral condition. Future work extending sampling to troodontids would therefore be invaluable and provide much needed context to the origin of skull form and function in early birds. This study illustrates how skull shape and functional metrics can discern non-avialan theropod ecology at lower taxonomic levels and identify variants of carnivorous feeding.
Morphological disparity and structural performance of the dromaeosaurid skull informs ecology and evolutionary history
最近一个月内驰龙科和伤齿龙科的头部形态结构演化研究也值得一看
研究中，发现类似伶盗龙属细头是为驰龙科和伤齿龙科较为原始的形态，艾伯塔驰龙则是粗头衍生进步形态
哈兹卡盗龙吃的可能是昆虫什么的而不是鸬鹚一样抓鱼
Combining our new morphofunctional data with a re-evaluation of previous evidence, we find piscivorous reconstructions of Halszkaraptor escuilliei to be unlikely, and instead suggest an invertivorous diet and possible adaptations for feeding in murky water or other low-visibility conditions. We support Deinonychus antirrhopus as being adapted for taking large vertebrate prey, but we find that its skull is relatively less resistant to bite forces than other dromaeosaurids. Given the recovery of high bite force resistance for Velociraptor mongoliensis, which is believed to have regularly engaged in scavenging behaviour, we suggest that higher bite force resistance in a dromaeosaurid taxon may reflect a greater reliance on scavenging rather than fresh kills.
Comparisons to the troodontid Gobivenator mongoliensis suggest that a gracile rostrum like that of Velociraptor mongoliensis is ancestral to their closest common ancestor (Deinonychosauria) and the robust rostra of Dromaeosaurus albertensis and Deinonychus antirrhopus are a derived condition. Gobivenator mongoliensis also displays a higher jaw mechanical advantage and lower resistance to bite force than the examined dromaeosaurids, but given the hypothesised ecological divergence of troodontids from dromaeosaurids it is unclear which group, if either, represents the ancestral condition. Future work extending sampling to troodontids would therefore be invaluable and provide much needed context to the origin of skull form and function in early birds. This study illustrates how skull shape and functional metrics can discern non-avialan theropod ecology at lower taxonomic levels and identify variants of carnivorous feeding.
