Functional morphology and behaviour Flashcards
1
Q
Looking evidence in modern spcecies to interpret the past: Bat ear example
A
- Bat ear echo location structure (fossil same to extant species)
- Know from this that past bats also echo-located
2
Q
Why are goats unusual ?
A
Wouldn’t be able to guess how good at climbing they are based on their body structure
3
Q
Notes about fossil reconstruction
A
- Can reconstruct using different individual fossils that overlap
- Closer an organism is to living representative the easier to reconstruct
- Living relatives are highly modified (birds)
- Use anatomical knowledge based on nearest living relatives (crocs or birds)
4
Q
What can ‘Fleshing up the dinosaur’ tell us?
A
- Use rare soft tissue preservation
- Use knowledge of nearest living relatives (crocodiles)
- Biomechanical knowledge - can input 3 dimensional model of skeleton and manipulate it to see where muscles would have most likely been attached
- Calculate size of muscle needed
5
Q
How do Biomechanics help us understand how dinosaurs moved etc?
A
- Tells us about the capabilities of the dinosaur
- How strong/fast etc
- Use 3D computer animations based on engineering algorithms to infer details of dinosaurs
6
Q
What do ‘trackways’ show us?
A
- Dimensionless speed
- Can work out distance between footprints and distance from foot to hip bone
- Can work out max speed, walking speed etc
7
Q
Examples of speeds of dinosaurs worked out from trackways
A
- Small bipedal theropods and ornithopods:- 40 km/hr
- Large bipedal theropods and ornithopods:- 20 km/hr
- Quadrepedal stegosaurs and ankylosaurs:- 6-8 km/hr
- Quadrepedal sauropods:- 12-17 km/hr
- Quadrepedal ceratopsians galloping:- 25 km/hr
8
Q
How can we work out the Intelligence of dinosaurs?
A
- EQ analysis
- Brain to body mass
- Sauropodomorpha - small brain compared to body ratio (low intelligence)
- Herd groups had more intelligence - combat predation
- Theropods - varied brain size to body ratio - hunters so higher intelligence.
- Dromaeosaurs: small but very large brain size to body ratio. Most intelligent group of dinosaurs - sister group to the birds.
9
Q
How can we work out the diet of dinosaurs?
A
- Preserved stomach contents, coprolites etc
- Tooth form gives the best clue as to what they eat
- Sharp = meat
- Grinding teeth - vegetation
- Coprolites show what the organism ate but not where the coprolite came from
10
Q
What do jaw adaptations show us about diet?
A
- Hinged jaws in hadrosaurs allowing sliding movement for certain grinding teeth.
- Hinge in cheekbone also allowed same movement in ornithopod
- Two different ways of creating a side swing
- Evidence they ate vegetation
11
Q
Co-occurence
A
- What was eating what (who was eating who)
- Work out food webs
12
Q
what do fortuitous finds tell us?
A
- Give us insights in to life histories of dinosaurs
- E.g. Velociraptor/Protoceratops death lock. Perfect preservation of one attacking the other
13
Q
Can we work out the behaviour of dinosaurs?
A
- Difficult to work out
- Egg laying - if bones are not-ossified in fossilised embryos the organism probably had parental care - brooding.
14
Q
What can fossilised footprints show us?
A
- Many animal tracks together - migration
- Hunting behaviour
15
Q
What can we tell about the physiology of dinosaurs ?
A
- Bone structures
- E.g. Pachycephalosaurus headbutting (sexual dimophim, used in male competition?)
- Can estimate systolic blood pressure (sauropod double the pressure of giraffe)
