Ontogeny and the fossil record: what, if anything, is an adult dinosaur? - PubMed (original) (raw)
Review
Ontogeny and the fossil record: what, if anything, is an adult dinosaur?
David W E Hone et al. Biol Lett. 2016 Feb.
Abstract
Identification of the ontogenetic status of an extinct organism is complex, and yet this underpins major areas of research, from taxonomy and systematics to ecology and evolution. In the case of the non-avialan dinosaurs, at least some were reproductively mature before they were skeletally mature, and a lack of consensus on how to define an 'adult' animal causes problems for even basic scientific investigations. Here we review the current methods available to determine the age of non-avialan dinosaurs, discuss the definitions of different ontogenetic stages, and summarize the implications of these disparate definitions for dinosaur palaeontology. Most critically, a growing body of evidence suggests that many dinosaurs that would be considered 'adults' in a modern-day field study are considered 'juveniles' or 'subadults' in palaeontological contexts.
Keywords: adult; dinosauria; growth; histology; juvenile; subadult.
© 2016 The Author(s).
Figures
Figure 1.
A tableau of Tyrannosaurus rex skeletal reconstructions, on display at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. The largest individual represents typical adult size for the taxon—current mainstream scientific consensus considers them all different ontogenetic stages of T. rex but the smaller specimens were originally referred to different genera. Photo: DWEH. (Online version in colour.)
Figure 2.
Various methods that may be used to determine the age/ontogenetic status of a given dinosaur specimen. Central image is a reconstruction of the skeleton of an adult ceratopsian Zuniceratops, with surrounding indications of maturity (taken from multiple sources and do not necessarily relate to this taxon). (a) Development of sociosexual signals (adult left, juvenile right—modified from [9]), (b) surface bone texture (traced from [17]), (c) large size, represented here by an ilium of the same taxon that is considerably larger than that of a known adult specimen, (d) reproductive maturity, here based on the presence of medullary bone here shown below the black arrow (traced from [18]), (e) fusion of the neurocentral arch—location of the obliterated synchondrosis indicated by black arrow (traced from [19]), (f) asymptote of growth based on multiple species indicated by black arrow (based on [20]). Central image by Julius Csotonyi, used with permission. (Online version in colour.)
Similar articles
- Developmental patterns and variation among early theropods.
Griffin CT. Griffin CT. J Anat. 2018 Apr;232(4):604-640. doi: 10.1111/joa.12775. Epub 2018 Jan 23. J Anat. 2018. PMID: 29363129 Free PMC article. - Extreme cranial ontogeny in the upper cretaceous dinosaur pachycephalosaurus.
Horner JR, Goodwin MB. Horner JR, et al. PLoS One. 2009 Oct 27;4(10):e7626. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0007626. PLoS One. 2009. PMID: 19859556 Free PMC article. - Was dinosaurian physiology inherited by birds? Reconciling slow growth in archaeopteryx.
Erickson GM, Rauhut OW, Zhou Z, Turner AH, Inouye BD, Hu D, Norell MA. Erickson GM, et al. PLoS One. 2009 Oct 9;4(10):e7390. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0007390. PLoS One. 2009. PMID: 19816582 Free PMC article. - A survey of the rock record of reptilian ontogeny.
Delfino M, Sánchez-Villagra MR. Delfino M, et al. Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2010 Jun;21(4):432-40. doi: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2009.11.007. Epub 2009 Nov 11. Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2010. PMID: 19913104 Review. - From extant to extinct: locomotor ontogeny and the evolution of avian flight.
Heers AM, Dial KP. Heers AM, et al. Trends Ecol Evol. 2012 May;27(5):296-305. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2011.12.003. Epub 2012 Feb 1. Trends Ecol Evol. 2012. PMID: 22304966 Review.
Cited by
- A new juvenile Yamaceratops (Dinosauria, Ceratopsia) from the Javkhlant Formation (Upper Cretaceous) of Mongolia.
Son M, Lee YN, Zorigt B, Kobayashi Y, Park JY, Lee S, Kim SH, Lee KY. Son M, et al. PeerJ. 2022 Apr 5;10:e13176. doi: 10.7717/peerj.13176. eCollection 2022. PeerJ. 2022. PMID: 35402094 Free PMC article. - New insights on the anatomy and ontogeny of the largest extinct freshwater turtles.
Cadena EA, Link A, Cooke SB, Stroik LK, Vanegas AF, Tallman M. Cadena EA, et al. Heliyon. 2021 Dec 27;7(12):e08591. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e08591. eCollection 2021 Dec. Heliyon. 2021. PMID: 35005268 Free PMC article. - Developmental patterns and variation among early theropods.
Griffin CT. Griffin CT. J Anat. 2018 Apr;232(4):604-640. doi: 10.1111/joa.12775. Epub 2018 Jan 23. J Anat. 2018. PMID: 29363129 Free PMC article. - Delineating modern variation from extinct morphology in the fossil record using shells of the Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina).
Vitek NS. Vitek NS. PLoS One. 2018 Mar 7;13(3):e0193437. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0193437. eCollection 2018. PLoS One. 2018. PMID: 29513709 Free PMC article.
References
- Ralph CJ, Geupel G, Pyle P, Martin T, DeSante D. 1993. Handbook of field methods for monitoring landbirds. General Technical Report PSW-GTR-144-www. Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service U.S. Department of Agriculture.
- Dunham AE, Morin PJ, Wilbur HM. 1988. Methods for the study of reptile populations. In Biology of the Reptilia, vol. 16. Ecology B: defense and life history, pp. 331–386. New York, NY: Alan R. Liss, Inc.
- Chiappe L, Dingus L, Jackson F, Grellet-Tinner G, Aspinall R, Clarke J, Coria R, Garrido AC, Loope D. 2000. Sauropod eggs and embryos from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia. In First Int. Symp. on Dinosaur Eggs and Babies, Isona I Conca Dellà, Catalonia, Spain. Extended Abstracts (eds AM Bravo, T Reyes), pp. 23–29. Lleida: Impremta Provincial de la Diputació de Lleida.
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources