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The Smallest Diplodocid Skull Reveals Cranial Ontogeny and Growth-Related Dietary Changes in the Largest Dinosaurs.
Sci Rep. 2018 10 11; 8(1):14341.SR

Abstract

Sauropod dinosaurs were the largest terrestrial vertebrates; yet despite a robust global fossil record, the paucity of cranial remains complicates attempts to understand their paleobiology. An assemblage of small diplodocid sauropods from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of Montana, USA, has produced the smallest diplodocid skull yet discovered. The ~24 cm long skull is referred to cf. Diplodocus based on the presence of several cranial and vertebral characters. This specimen enhances known features of early diplodocid ontogeny including a short snout with narrow-crowned teeth limited to the anterior portion of the jaws and more spatulate teeth posteriorly. The combination of size plus basal and derived character expression seen here further emphasizes caution when naming new taxa displaying the same, as these may be indicative of immaturity. This young diplodocid reveals that cranial modifications occurred throughout growth, providing evidence for ontogenetic dietary partitioning and recapitulation of ancestral morphologies.

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Authors+Show Affiliations

Woodruff DC
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. sauropod4@gmail.com. Royal Ontario Museum, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. sauropod4@gmail.com. Great Plains Dinosaur Museum, Malta, MT, USA. sauropod4@gmail.com.
Carr TD
Department of Biology, Carthage College, Kenosha, WI, USA.
Storrs GW
Cincinnati Museum Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
Waskow K
Steinmann Institute for Geology, Mineralogy, and Paleontology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Scannella JB
Museum of the Rockies, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA.
Nordén KK
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.
Wilson JP
Department of Paleontology, Badlands Dinosaur Museum, Dickinson Museum Center, Dickinson, ND, USA.

MeSH

Animal FeedAnimalsBiological EvolutionBody SizeDinosaursFossilsPaleontologyPhylogenySkull

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Language

eng

PubMed ID

30310088

Citation

Woodruff, D Cary, et al. "The Smallest Diplodocid Skull Reveals Cranial Ontogeny and Growth-Related Dietary Changes in the Largest Dinosaurs." Scientific Reports, vol. 8, no. 1, 2018, p. 14341.
Woodruff DC, Carr TD, Storrs GW, et al. The Smallest Diplodocid Skull Reveals Cranial Ontogeny and Growth-Related Dietary Changes in the Largest Dinosaurs. Sci Rep. 2018;8(1):14341.
Woodruff, D. C., Carr, T. D., Storrs, G. W., Waskow, K., Scannella, J. B., Nordén, K. K., & Wilson, J. P. (2018). The Smallest Diplodocid Skull Reveals Cranial Ontogeny and Growth-Related Dietary Changes in the Largest Dinosaurs. Scientific Reports, 8(1), 14341. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-32620-x
Woodruff DC, et al. The Smallest Diplodocid Skull Reveals Cranial Ontogeny and Growth-Related Dietary Changes in the Largest Dinosaurs. Sci Rep. 2018 10 11;8(1):14341. PubMed PMID: 30310088.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - The Smallest Diplodocid Skull Reveals Cranial Ontogeny and Growth-Related Dietary Changes in the Largest Dinosaurs. AU - Woodruff,D Cary, AU - Carr,Thomas D, AU - Storrs,Glenn W, AU - Waskow,Katja, AU - Scannella,John B, AU - Nordén,Klara K, AU - Wilson,John P, Y1 - 2018/10/11/ PY - 2017/11/03/received PY - 2018/08/24/accepted PY - 2018/10/13/entrez PY - 2018/10/13/pubmed PY - 2019/10/30/medline SP - 14341 EP - 14341 JF - Scientific reports JO - Sci Rep VL - 8 IS - 1 N2 - Sauropod dinosaurs were the largest terrestrial vertebrates; yet despite a robust global fossil record, the paucity of cranial remains complicates attempts to understand their paleobiology. An assemblage of small diplodocid sauropods from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of Montana, USA, has produced the smallest diplodocid skull yet discovered. The ~24 cm long skull is referred to cf. Diplodocus based on the presence of several cranial and vertebral characters. This specimen enhances known features of early diplodocid ontogeny including a short snout with narrow-crowned teeth limited to the anterior portion of the jaws and more spatulate teeth posteriorly. The combination of size plus basal and derived character expression seen here further emphasizes caution when naming new taxa displaying the same, as these may be indicative of immaturity. This young diplodocid reveals that cranial modifications occurred throughout growth, providing evidence for ontogenetic dietary partitioning and recapitulation of ancestral morphologies. SN - 2045-2322 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/30310088/The_Smallest_Diplodocid_Skull_Reveals_Cranial_Ontogeny_and_Growth_Related_Dietary_Changes_in_the_Largest_Dinosaurs_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -