COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: EVOLUTION OF THE HADROSAURID DENTITION--HISTOLOGICAL AND BIOMECHANICAL INSIGHTS INTO ADVANCED REPTILIAN HERBIVORY

摘要合作研究：鸭嘴龙牙齿的进化——对高级食草爬行动物的组织学和生物力学见解在它们3亿多年的历史中，食草爬行动物很少获得像有蹄类哺乳动物（如马和牛）那样可以咀嚼的牙齿。唯一的例外是鸭嘴恐龙（又名鸭嘴龙），它们是白垩纪晚期的主要食草动物。在我们的研究中，我们正在研究：1)鸭嘴龙的牙齿变得更复杂的步骤；2)每一步它们的牙齿结构是如何变化的；3)这些变化是如何使它们能够加工不同种类的食物的；最后4)牙齿的变化是如何使它们在世界范围内的广泛辐射成为可能的。我们正在专门记录整个群体的牙齿形状和微观结构，包括一些最早和最新的代表。根据在样本中发现的生长线，我们正在确定每只恐龙有多长？S的牙齿形成，磨损，然后被替换。然后，我们利用这些数据创建牙齿的计算机工程模型，并利用它们来解释每个物种的咀嚼表面是如何形成的。最终，我们将把这些数据与饮食信息和地理辐射联系起来，以全面了解鸭嘴龙是如何在恐龙时代成为草食性动物的。研究结果将作为理解复杂牙齿结构起源的模型，并将引起众多科学学科（如脊椎动物古生物学、古生物学、进化生物学、人类学、综合生物学、比较生理学、生态学、爬虫学和哺乳学）研究者的兴趣。这项研究的其他好处包括为学生和教师提供教育机会。研究和发现的理由和描述将与研究图像档案一起发布在互联网上，供公众访问。通过美国自然历史博物馆（AMNH）教育部？S暑期实习计划，高中生有机会亲身参与项目。教师培训（针对高中和初中教师）也将作为这笔赠款的结果进行。教师专业发展研讨会，重点是恐龙进化喂养生态学，将在AMNH的Gottesman中心举行。此外，这项研究将与佛罗里达州立大学特殊继续教育项目中参与动手组织学活动的教师分享。

AbstractCOLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: EVOLUTION OF THE HADROSAURID DENTITION--HISTOLOGICAL AND BIOMECHANICAL INSIGHTS INTO ADVANCED REPTILIAN HERBIVORYGregory M. Erickson and Mark A. NorellThroughout their 300+ million year history, herbivorous reptiles rarely acquired teeth that allowed for chewing in the manner of ungulate mammals (e.g. horses and cows). The lone exception was the duck-billed dinosaurs (aka hadrosaurids), the dominant herbivores of the Late Cretaceous. In our research we are studying: 1) the steps by which hadrosaur teeth became more complex, 2) how the mechanics of their dentition changed with each step, 3) how such changes allowed for the processing of different food types, and finally 4) how their extensive worldwide radiations were made possible by dental changes. We are specifically documenting the shape and microstructure of the teeth throughout the group, including some of the earliest and latest representatives. From growth lines found in the samples we are determining how long each dinosaur?s teeth took to form, wear down, and be replaced. We are then using these data to create computerized engineering models of the dentitions and using them to explain how the chewing surfaces of each species were created. Ultimately we will correlate these data with dietary information and geographic radiations to gain a comprehensive understanding of how hadrosaurids came to dominant herbivorous roles during the age of dinosaurs. The results will serve as a model for understanding the genesis of complex dental structures and will be of interest to investigators in myriad scientific disciplines (e.g. vertebrate paleontology, paleobiology, evolutionary biology, anthropology, integrative biology, comparative physiology, ecology, herpetology, and mammalogy). Additional benefits of this study include educational opportunities for students and teachers. Justifications and descriptions of the research and findings will be posted on the internet for public access along with an archive of research images. Through the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) Education Department?s summer intern program, high school students have the opportunity for hands-on participation in the project. Teacher training (for high school and middle school teachers) will also be conducted as a result of this grant. Teacher Professional Development Workshops, focusing on dinosaur evolutionary feeding ecology, will be held at the Gottesman Center at the AMNH. In addition this research will be shared with teachers who participate in hands-on histology activities during a special continuing education program at Florida State University.