Tyrannosaurus en pointe:: allometry minimized rotational inertia of large carnivorous dinosaurs
Tyrannosaurus en pointe:: allometry minimized rotational inertia of large carnivorous dinosaurs
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DOI：
10.1098/rsbl.2003.0097
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发表时间：
2004-02-07
影响因子：
4.7
通讯作者：
Snively, E
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Henderson, DM;Snively, E
兽脚亚目恐龙在陆地掠食者中拥有最大的体型，并且是独一无二的两足动物。兽脚亚目恐龙只有两条肢体用于推进和平衡，在体型较大的情况下，它们的运动性能会受到很大限制。通过对 12 种兽脚亚目恐龙的轴体和四肢进行三维复原，并确定它们绕垂直轴的转动惯量 (RI)，我们发现这些动物表现出一种系统尺寸增加的模式，最大限度地减少了与体型增加相关的 RI 增加。相比之下，六只四足肉食性主龙的 RI 表现出的身体比例变化更接近等距预测的变化。蜥蜴中低 RI 与高敏捷性的相关性表明，相对 RI 较低的大型兽脚亚目动物可以从事比等长缩放可能需要更高敏捷性的活动。
Theropod dinosaurs attained the largest body sizes among terrestrial predators, and were also unique in being exclusively bipedal. With only two limbs for propulsion and balance, theropods would have been greatly constrained in their locomotor performance at large body size. Using three-dimensional restorations of the axial bodies and limbs of 12 theropod dinosaurs, and determining their rotational inertias (RIs) about a vertical axis, we show that these animals expressed a pattern of phyletic size increase that minimized the increase in RI associated with increases in body size. By contrast, the RI of six quadrupedal, carnivorous archosaurs exhibited changes in body proportions that were closer to those predicted by isometry. Correlations of low RI with high agility in lizards suggest that large theropods, with low relative RI, could engage in activities requiring higher agility than would be possible with isometric scaling.