Comparative Craniology of the Ceratopsia

角龙的比较颅骨学

• 批准号: 9018663
• 负责人: Peter Dodson
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Pennsylvania
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1991
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1991-03-01 至 1994-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9018663&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Comparative; Craniology; Ceratopsia

The Ceratopsia or horned dinosaurs represent an evolutionary radiation of dinosaurs rich in morphological variation but circumscribed taxonomically. The known history of the Ceratopsia extends between late Early Cretaceous and the end of the Cretaceous. Major patterns of the phylogenetic and stratigraphic history of the Ceratopsia have been established. The purpose of the proposed study is to apply procedures of modern multivariate morphometrics, including tensor methods of landmark analysis, finite-element analyses, principal components analyses with appropriate shear, and resistant-fit theta-rho analysis, to samples of Centrosaurus and Chasmosaurus in order to map out patterns of variation within species. A point of focus will be the documentation of fluctuating asymmetries, which may reveal the genetic structure of the species. Functional trends in ceratopsian skulls will be traced, and stratigraphic trends in the evolution of the masticatory system will be determined. I will test the hypothesis that changes in the jaw suspensorium; rejection of this hypothesis will call into question the use of the frill for muscle origins. This study will provide a model for further studies of dinosaur morphometrics, and will contribute to understanding biodiversity of the past, and thus the biodiversity of our own world.

角龙或角龙代表了恐龙的一种进化辐射，具有丰富的形态变异，但在分类上是有限的。已知的Ceratopsia的历史可以追溯到早白垩世晚期到白垩纪末期。甲壳动物的系统发育和地层史的主要模式已经建立。本研究的目的是将现代多元形态计量学方法，包括地标张量分析、有限元分析、适当切变的主成分分析和抗力拟合的theta-Rho分析应用于尖角龙和开角龙的样本，以绘制物种内的变异模式。重点将是记录波动的不对称性，这可能揭示物种的遗传结构。将追踪角质骨头骨的功能趋势，并确定咀嚼系统演化的地层趋势。我将检验这样一种假设，即下巴悬垂的变化；拒绝这一假设将使人们对使用褶边作为肌肉起源提出质疑。这项研究将为恐龙形态计量学的进一步研究提供一个模型，并将有助于了解过去的生物多样性，从而有助于了解我们自己世界的生物多样性。