The evolution of skull shape and function in Sauropodomorpha: Insights from finite elements structure synthesis and landmark analysis

蜥脚类动物是专门的食草动物，它们的食草行为与其他大型食草动物的食草行为有很大的不同，因为它们显然不涉及口腔加工。虽然这种特殊形式的食草动物可能是中生代蜥脚类恐龙成功的一个关键方面，但人们对它的起源和进化知之甚少。因此，在目前的项目中，将使用综合的生物力学，形态测量和形态学的方法在系统发育框架内研究蜥脚类头骨的进化。生物力学分析将基于一种新的方法，即根据作用在不同结构上的力，使用3D有限元结构合成（FESS）来合成头骨。这种方法将用于几个参考类群，以提高我们的了解的功能设计的蜥脚类头骨。蜥脚类头骨的形状和解剖结构的变化将使用头骨解剖结构的定性检查和定量技术（如形状分析）来量化变化。结合生物力学分析的结果，这些研究将导致更好地了解sauropodomorph头骨进化过程中的结构变化以及可能指导它的功能和机械因素。

Sauropods were specialised herbivores and their herbivory differed greatly from that of other groups of megaherbivores in that, apparently, no oral processing was involved. Although this special form of herbivory might have been a key aspect of sauropod success in the Mesozoic, little is still known about its origin and evolution. Thus, in the current project, the evolution of sauropodomorph skulls will be investigated using an integrated biomechanical, morphometric and morphological approach within a phylogenetic framework. Biomechanical analysis will be based on a new approach of synthesizing skulls on the basis of the forces acting on the different structures, using 3D Finite-Element Structure Synthesis (FESS). This method will be used for several reference taxa to improve our understanding of the functional design of sauropodomorph skulls. Changes in shape and anatomy of sauropodomorph skulls will be studied using both qualitative examination of skull anatomy and quantitative techniques, such as shape analysis, to quantify changes. In combination with the results of the biomechanical analysis, these studies will result in a much better understanding of structural changes during sauropodomorph skull evolution and the functional and mechanical factors that might have guided it.