Bates, KT, Mannion, PD, Falkingham, PL, Brusatte, S, Hutchinson, JR, Otero, A, Sellers, WI, Sullivan, C, Stevens, K and Allen, V (2016) Temporal and phylogenetic evolution of the sauropod dinosaur body plan. Royal Society Open Science. ISSN 2054-5703

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Abstract

The colossal size and body plan of sauropod dinosaurs are unparalleled in terrestrial vertebrates. However, to-date there have been only limited attempts to examine temporal and phylogenetic patterns in the sauropod bauplan. Here we combine three-dimensional computational models with phylogenetic reconstructions to quantify the evolution of whole-body shape and body segment properties across the sauropod radiation. Limitations associated with the absence of soft tissue preservation in fossils result in large error bars about mean absolute body shape predictions. However, applying any consistent skeleton:body volume ratio to all taxa does yield changes in body shape that appear concurrent with major macroevolutionary events in sauropod history. A caudad shift in centre-of-mass in Middle Triassic Saurischia, associated with the evolution of bipedalism in various dinosaur lineages, was reversed in Late Triassic sauropodomorphs. A craniad centre-of-mass shift coincided with the evolution of quadrupedalism in the Late Triassic, followed by a more striking craniad shift in Late Jurassic–Cretaceous titanosauriforms, which included the largest sauropods. These craniad CoM shifts are strongly correlated with neck enlargement, a key innovation in sauropod evolution and pivotal to their gigantism. By creating a much larger feeding envelope, neck elongation is thought to have increased feeding efficiency and opened up trophic niches that were inaccessible to other herbivores. However, we find that relative neck size and center-of-mass position are not strongly correlated with inferred feeding habits. Instead the craniad center-of-mass positions of titanosauriforms appear closely linked with locomotion and environmental distributions, potentially contributing to the continued success of this group until the end-Cretaceous, with all other sauropods having gone extinct by the early Late Cretaceous.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GN Anthropology
Divisions:	Natural Sciences & Psychology (closed 31 Aug 19)
Publisher:	The Royal Society
Date Deposited:	30 Mar 2016 13:04
Last Modified:	04 Sep 2021 13:06
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/3351

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