Comparative Craniology of the Ceratopsia

角龙或角龙代表了恐龙的进化辐射丰富的形态变化，但在分类上受到限制。已知的角鼻龙的历史从早白垩纪晚期延伸到白垩纪末期。建立了角鼻虫的系统发育和地层历史的主要模式。本研究旨在运用现代多元形态计量学的方法，包括地标分析的张量法、有限元分析、适当剪切的主成分分析、抗拟合的θ -rho分析等，对中心龙和裂口龙样本进行分析，以绘制物种内的变异模式。一个重点将是对波动不对称的记录，这可能揭示该物种的遗传结构。将追踪角龙头骨的功能趋势，并确定咀嚼系统进化的地层趋势。我将检验下颌悬索变化的假设；对这一假设的否定将会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，从而了解我们自己世界的生物多样性。

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.