[dinosaur] Dinosaurs: Repeated Evolution of Divergent Modes of Herbivory (free pdf)

Ben Creisler
[email protected]

A new paper with free pdf:


David J. Button & Lindsay E. Zanno (2019)
Repeated Evolution of Divergent Modes of Herbivory in Non-avian Dinosaurs.
Current Biology (advance online publication)
DOI: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__doi.org_10.1016_j.cub.2019.10.050&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=SvRB8FWcWwmuq2fUcgIMqk1ymiSeu5dRPmo8BWqsJwg&s=TMmuuC_l20JRiAjAVEzNtBo7QDOhmQwO4ybsJRO2vl4&e= 
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.cell.com_current-2Dbiology_fulltext_S0960-2D9822-2819-2931390-2D9&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=SvRB8FWcWwmuq2fUcgIMqk1ymiSeu5dRPmo8BWqsJwg&s=agPz7ra3jYYCzdOOT1tzLspK7560BYnKJ1Rk5tEVEO8&e= 

Free pdf:
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.cell.com_action_showPdf-3Fpii-3DS0960-2D9822-252819-252931390-2D9&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=SvRB8FWcWwmuq2fUcgIMqk1ymiSeu5dRPmo8BWqsJwg&s=SMJ_P8Xc9nNkYPfdQ6cb1JJ0OWguyN0IfYdRMVEmQMM&e= 

Highlights

Distinct craniodental trajectories are observed in herbivorous dinosaur
clades
Multiple herbivorous clades converged upon two divergent functional modes
These modes are defined by taxa prioritizing gut and oral processing,
respectively
Morphologies realized by clades are constrained by their phylogenetic
histories

Summary

The importance of adaptation versus organizational constraints in shaping
common macroevolutionary trends remains unclear. The fossil record is key
to this problem, as it provides data on repetitive trait evolution between
lineages. However, quantitative analyses investigating these dynamics with
fossil data are rare. Herbivory evolved multiple times within Mesozoic
dinosaurs, allowing analysis of common phenotypic responses to dietary
evolution. Whereas repeated patterns of character acquisition and
functional changes are observed between some herbivorous dinosaur clades,
biomechanical studies resolve significant differences between
morphologically similar taxa. However, previous biomechanical analyses have
not accounted for phylogenetic non-independence (...) or been restricted to
individual clades (...). Here, we use multivariate analysis of
biomechanical characters, within a robust phylogenetic context, to
investigate functional pathways to herbivory in a large sample of non-avian
dinosaurs. Results demonstrate multiple solutions to herbivory. Notably,
two fundamentally different modes are observed to evolve independently
multiple times, with morphofunctional changes in the skull co-varying with
digestive strategy. These modes distinguish between gut-processing
sauropodomorphs and theropods tending toward gracile crania and low bite
forces and ornithischian taxa exhibiting character complexes associated
with extensive oral processing. Although convergence within these subsets
of taxa is common, it is not observed between them due to functional
constraints imposed during the early evolution of each group. This
highlights the hierarchical nature of evolution, with adaptation driving
convergence within regions of morphospace delimited by phylogenetic
contingency.

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News:

Dull teeth, long skulls, specialized bites evolved in unrelated
plant-eating dinosaurs

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__phys.org_news_2019-2D12-2Ddull-2Dteeth-2Dskulls-2Dspecialized-2Devolved.html&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=SvRB8FWcWwmuq2fUcgIMqk1ymiSeu5dRPmo8BWqsJwg&s=TNYKKrWPFcwogAzVyR2yY45XG0W1ld0qJ3VF8dAEHP0&e=