RUI: Within-Taxon and Across-Taxon Variability in Foot and Footprint Proportions in Dinosaurs, Birds, and Crocodilians: Implications for Dinosaur Ichnology

9612880 Farlow在哪些形态特征上，以及在什么分类水平上，三趾(三趾)脚印可能会在不同的两足恐龙群体中有所不同？由于我们无法观察到活着的非鸟类恐龙形成足迹，建议通过对分类单元内和分类单元间形态变异的相互关联分析来间接研究这些问题：a)恐龙和地面鸟类的后脚和脚趾比例；b)地面鸟类的足迹形状；c)鳄鱼的骨骼和“肉质”足部比例。将采用足部和足迹形状的形态计量学分析，以解决足迹可能有多大不同的问题，并且仍然是由同一种类的分类单元产生的，以及指纹可以有多相似，但仍然是由不同的分类群产生的。该项目的每个组成部分都解决了解释造成恐龙脚印动物群的动物多样性问题的不同方面，每个组成部分都解决了其他方法的不足之处。它们将共同提供一个理论框架，以此为基础对三角龙足迹进行系统的解释。这些研究的结果将被用来解释德克萨斯州早白垩世岩石中三脚龙脚印的遗迹分类学。

9612880 Farlow In what morphological features, and at what taxonomic level, would tridactyl (three-toed) footprints likely vary across different groups of bipedal dinosaurs? Because we cannot observe footprint formation by living, non-avian dinosaurs, it is proposed to investigate these questions indirectly, through inter-related analyses of within-taxon and across-taxon morphological variability in: a) hindfoot and toebone proportions in dinosaurs and ground birds; b) footprint shape in ground birds; c) skeletal and "fleshy" foot proportions in crocodilians. Morphometric analyses of foot and footprint shape will be employed to address the question of how different footprints can be, and still have been made by the same kind of taxon and how similar prints can be, and yet have been made by different taxa. Each component of the project addresses a different aspect of the problem of interpreting the diversity of animals responsible for dinosaur fooprint faunas, and each addresses shortcomings I the other approaches. Together they will provide a theoretical framework upon which to base systematic interpretations of tridactyl dinosaur footprints. Results of these studies will be used to interpret the ichnotaxonomy of tridactyl dinosaur footprints from Early Cretaceous rocks of Texas.