Estimating cranial musculoskeletal constraints in theropod dinosaurs

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Citations (Scopus)
104 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Many inferences on the biology, behaviour and ecology of extinct vertebrates are based on the reconstruction of the musculature and rely considerably on its accuracy. Although the advent of digital reconstruction techniques has facilitated the creation and testing of musculoskeletal hypotheses in recent years, muscle strain capabilities have rarely been considered. Here, a digital modelling approach using the freely available visualization and animation software Blender is applied to estimate cranial muscle length changes and optimal and maximal possible gape in different theropod dinosaurs. Models of living archosaur taxa (Alligator mississippiensis, Buteo buteo) were used in an extant phylogenetically bracketed framework to validate the method. Results of this study demonstrate that Tyrannosaurus rex, Allosaurus fragilis and Erlikosaurus andrewsi show distinct differences in the recruitment of the jaw adductor musculature and resulting gape, confirming previous dietary and ecological assumptions. While the carnivorous taxa T. rex and Allo. fragilis were capable of a wide gape and sustained muscle force, the herbivorous therizinosaurian E. andrewsi was constrained to small gape angles.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-14
Number of pages14
JournalRoyal Society Open Science
Volume2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2015

Keywords

  • Dinosauria
  • functional morphology
  • musculature
  • muscle strain
  • digital reconstruction

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Estimating cranial musculoskeletal constraints in theropod dinosaurs'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this