Members of the dinosaur clade Spinosauridae had numerous traits attributed to feeding in or around water, and their feeding apparatus has often been considered analogous to modern crocodylians. Here we quantify the craniodental morphology of Spinosauridae and compare it to modern Crocodylia. We measured from spinosaurid and crocodylian skeletal material the area of alveoli as a proxy for tooth size to determine size-heterodonty.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFKomodo dragons (Varanus komodoensis) are the largest extant predatory lizards and their ziphodont (serrated, curved and blade-shaped) teeth make them valuable analogues for studying tooth structure, function and comparing with extinct ziphodont taxa, such as theropod dinosaurs. Like other ziphodont reptiles, V. komodoensis teeth possess only a thin coating of enamel that is nevertheless able to cope with the demands of their puncture-pull feeding.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWhile the terrestrial fossil record of the mid-Cretaceous interval (Aptian to Cenomanian) in North America has been poorly studied, the recent focus on fossil localities from the western United States has offered a more detailed picture of vertebrate diversity, ecosystem dynamics and faunal turnover that took place on the western landmass of Laramidia. This is in stark contrast to the terrestrial record from the eastern landmass of Appalachia, where vertebrate fossils are rare and consist mostly of isolated and fragmentary remains. However, a detailed understanding of these fossil communities during this interval is necessary for comparison of the faunal patterns that developed during the opening of the Western Interior Seaway (WIS).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBite marks provide direct evidence for trophic interactions and competition in the fossil record. However, variations in paleoecological dynamics, such as trophic relationships, feeding behavior, and food availability, govern the frequency of these traces. Theropod bite marks are particularly rare, suggesting that members of this clade might not often focus on bone as a resource, instead preferentially targeting softer tissues.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHeterodonty in Crocodylia and closely related taxa has not been defined quantitatively, as the teeth rarely have been measured. This has resulted in a range of qualitative descriptors, with little consensus on the condition of dental morphology in the clade. The purpose of this study is to present a method for the quantification of both size- and shape-heterodonty in members of Crocodylia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNumerous studies investigate morphology in the context of habitat, and lizards have received particular attention. Substrate usage is often reflected in the morphology of characters associated with locomotion, and, as a result, claws have become well-studied ecomorphological traits linking the two. The Kimberley predator guild of Western Australia consists of 10 sympatric varanid species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMany recent attempts have been made to quantify heterodonty in non-mammalian vertebrates, but the majority of these are limited to Euclidian measurements. One taxon frequently investigated is Varanus niloticus, the Nile monitor. Juveniles possess elongate, pointed teeth (caniniform) along the entirety of the dental arcade, whereas adults develop large, bulbous distal teeth (molariform).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStudent learning style modality preferences, in preclinical classes, were assessed using the visual-aural-read/write-kinesthetic (VARK) inventory. Preferences were assessed for 137 preclinical students, including those in nursing, physician's assistant, physical therapy, athletic training, and natural science programs using the online VARK inventory. All classes contained a majority of multimodal and a significantly high proportion of kinesthetic learners.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn addition to biting, it has been speculated that the forces resulting from pulling on food items may also contribute to feeding success in carnivorous vertebrates. We present an in vivo analysis of both bite and pulling forces in Varanus komodoensis, the Komodo dragon, to determine how they contribute to feeding behavior. Observations of cranial modeling and behavior suggest that V.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnat Rec (Hoboken)
September 2009
The serrated, or denticulated, ziphodont teeth of theropod dinosaurs display variability in their extent of denticulation. The functional model proposed here tests the hypothesis that denticles will not exist in areas that do not frequently contact the substrate. This area, defined as the "dead-space," is determined by the direction the tooth moves through the fleshy substrate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) displays a unique hold and pull-feeding technique. Its delicate 'space-frame' skull morphology differs greatly from that apparent in most living large prey specialists and is suggestive of a high degree of optimization, wherein use of materials is minimized. Here, using high-resolution finite element modelling based on dissection and in vivo bite and pull data, we present results detailing the mechanical performance of the giant lizard's skull.
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