10.5061/DRYAD.6HDR7SQZK
Landi, Damiano
0000-0002-8226-7707
University of Bristol
King, Logan
0000-0003-2104-4187
University of Bristol
Zhao, Qi
Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology
Rayfield, Emily
0000-0002-2618-750X
University of Bristol
Benton, Michael
0000-0002-4323-1824
University of Bristol
Supplementary material for: Testing for a dietary shift in the Early
Cretaceous ceratopsian dinosaur Psittacosaurus lujiatunensis
Dryad
dataset
2020
jaw mechanics
ceratopsian
2021-02-09T00:00:00Z
2021-02-09T00:00:00Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1111/pala.12529
57528370 bytes
3
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Many dinosaurs may have shown ecological differentiation between
hatchlings and adults, possibly because of the great size differential.
The basal ceratopsian Psittacosaurus lujiatunensis is known from thousands
of specimens from the Early Cretaceous of China and these include many
so-called ‘juvenile clusters’. During the early stages of ontogeny, P.
lujiatunensis underwent a posture shift from quadrupedal to bipedal, and a
dietary shift has also been postulated. In this study, we apply a 2D
mechanical analysis of the jaws of a hatchling and an adult to determine
the differences between the two systems and found some differences, but
only modest. The adult was better suited to feeding on tough plant
material than the hatchling, based on its higher values of absolute and
relative bite forces and higher values of mechanical advantage, but there
were no substantial shifts in jaw shape or function.