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

摘要综合研究：鸭嘴龙牙齿的进化--对高级爬行动物HERBIVORY Gregory M.Erickson和Mark A.Norell的组织学和生物力学洞察在它们3亿多年的历史中，食草性爬行动物很少有能够像有蹄类哺乳动物(如马和牛)那样咀嚼的牙齿。唯一的例外是鸭嘴龙(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)鸭嘴龙牙齿变得更加复杂的步骤，2)它们牙齿的机制如何随着每一步的变化而变化，3)这种变化如何允许不同的食物类型的加工，最后4)它们如何通过牙齿变化而广泛地辐射到世界各地。我们专门记录了整个团队牙齿的形状和微观结构，包括一些最早和最新的代表。从样本中发现的生长线，我们正在确定每一颗恐龙的牙齿形成、磨损和被替换花了多长时间。然后，我们使用这些数据来创建牙列的计算机化工程模型，并用它们来解释每个物种的咀嚼表面是如何产生的。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主导食草动物的。这些结果将成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、爬行动物学和哺乳动物学)的研究人员的兴趣。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发布在互联网上，供公众访问，同时还将发布研究图像档案。通过美国自然历史博物馆教育部S暑期实习生项目，高中生有机会亲身参与该项目。教师培训(高中和中学教师)也将作为这笔赠款的结果而进行。教师专业发展工作坊将在AMNH的Gottesman中心举行，重点是恐龙进化觅食生态学。此外，这项研究还将在佛罗里达州立大学的一项特殊继续教育计划中与参加实践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.