Nocturnality in dinosaurs inferred from scleral ring and orbit morphology - PubMed (original) (raw)
. 2011 May 6;332(6030):705-8.
doi: 10.1126/science.1200043. Epub 2011 Apr 14.
Affiliations
- PMID: 21493820
- DOI: 10.1126/science.1200043
Nocturnality in dinosaurs inferred from scleral ring and orbit morphology
Lars Schmitz et al. Science. 2011.
Abstract
Variation in daily activity patterns facilitates temporal partitioning of habitat and resources among species. Knowledge of temporal niche partitioning in paleobiological systems has been limited by the difficulty of obtaining reliable information about activity patterns from fossils. On the basis of an analysis of scleral ring and orbit morphology in 33 archosaurs, including dinosaurs and pterosaurs, we show that the eyes of Mesozoic archosaurs were adapted to all major types of diel activity (that is, nocturnal, diurnal, and cathemeral) and provide concrete evidence of temporal niche partitioning in the Mesozoic. Similar to extant amniotes, flyers were predominantly diurnal; terrestrial predators, at least partially, nocturnal; and large herbivores, cathemeral. These similarities suggest that ecology drives the evolution of diel activity patterns.
Comment in
- Comment on "Nocturnality in dinosaurs inferred from scleral ring and orbit morphology".
Hall MI, Kirk EC, Kamilar JM, Carrano MT. Hall MI, et al. Science. 2011 Dec 23;334(6063):1641; author reply 1641. doi: 10.1126/science.1208489. Science. 2011. PMID: 22194558
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