Minimum convex hull mass estimations of complete mounted skeletons
William I. Sellers,J. Hepworth-Bell,Peter L. Falkingham,Karl T. Bates,Charlotte A. Brassey,Victoria M. Egerton,Phillip L. Manning +6 more
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TLDR
It is suggested that it is a robust method of estimating body mass where a mounted skeletal reconstruction is available and its usage to predict the body mass of one of the largest, relatively complete sauropod dinosaurs: Giraffatitan brancai (previously Brachiosaurus) as 23200 kg.Abstract:
Body mass is a critical parameter used to constrain biomechanical and physiological traits of organisms. Volumetric methods are becoming more common as techniques for estimating the body masses of fossil vertebrates. However, they are often accused of excessive subjective input when estimating the thickness of missing soft tissue. Here, we demonstrate an alternative approach where a minimum convex hull is derived mathematically from the point cloud generated by laser-scanning mounted skeletons. This has the advantage of requiring minimal user intervention and is thus more objective and far quicker. We test this method on 14 relatively large-bodied mammalian skeletons and demonstrate that it consistently underestimates body mass by 21 per cent with minimal scatter around the regression line. We therefore suggest that it is a robust method of estimating body mass where a mounted skeletal reconstruction is available and demonstrate its usage to predict the body mass of one of the largest, relatively complete sauropod dinosaurs: Giraffatitan brancai (previously Brachiosaurus) as 23200 kg.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Walker's Mammals of the World, 4th Edition, Ronald M. Nowak, John L. Paradiso. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland (1983), 1xi, +1-568 (Vol. I), xxv+569-1362 (Vol. II). Price $65.00
TL;DR: This book is based on a symposium organized by the Entomological Society of America in 1980 and will prove to be an important book in bringing together recent research on the mating systems of orthopterans, and discussing their behaviour in the light of current theory in behavioura].
Journal ArticleDOI
A new giant titanosaur sheds light on body mass evolution among sauropod dinosaurs
José Luis Carballido,Diego Pol,Alejandro Otero,Ignacio Alejandro Cerda,Leonardo Salgado,Alberto C. Garrido,Jahandar Ramezani,Néstor R. Cúneo,Javier Marcelo Krause +8 more
TL;DR: A new giant titanosaur is described, which represents the largest species described so far and one of the most complete titanosaurs, and its inclusion in an extended phylogenetic analysis and the optimization of body mass reveals the presence of an endemic clade of giant titanosaurs inhabited Patagonia between the Albian and the Santonian.
Journal ArticleDOI
An Evolutionary Cascade Model for Sauropod Dinosaur Gigantism - Overview, Update and Tests
TL;DR: This review focuses on the sauropod gigantism ECM, providing an updated version based on the contributions to the PLoS ONE sauropods collection and on other very recent published evidence.
Journal ArticleDOI
How to build a dinosaur: Musculoskeletal modeling and simulation of locomotor biomechanics in extinct animals
TL;DR: A complete workflow for biomechanical analysis of extinct species, using locomotor biomechanics in the Triassic theropod dinosaur Coelophysis as a case study is outlined, highlighting the need for more refined methods of estimating intrinsic muscle parameters such as fiber length.
Journal ArticleDOI
Osteological Correlates for Quadrupedality in Ornithischian Dinosaurs
TL;DR: An anterolateral process on the proximal ulna, hoof-shaped manual unguals, a transversely broadened ilium, a reduced fourth trochanter and a femur longer than the tibia are found to be robust correlates of quadrupedality in ornithischian dinosaurs.
References
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Book
Walker's mammals of the world
Ronald M. Nowak,Ernest P. Walker +1 more
TL;DR: The sixth edition of Ernest P. Walker's Mammals of the World represents more than half a century of scholarship-and remains true to Walker's vision, smoothly combining thorough scholarship with a popular, readable style to preserve and enhance what the Washington Post called "a landmark of zoological literature."
Journal ArticleDOI
Bivariate line-fitting methods for allometry.
TL;DR: This review describes for the practitioner the essential features of line‐fitting methods for estimating the relationship between two variables: what methods are commonly used, which method should be used when, and how to make inferences from these lines to answer common research questions.
Journal ArticleDOI
Walker's Mammals of the World, 4th Edition, Ronald M. Nowak, John L. Paradiso. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland (1983), 1xi, +1-568 (Vol. I), xxv+569-1362 (Vol. II). Price $65.00
TL;DR: This book is based on a symposium organized by the Entomological Society of America in 1980 and will prove to be an important book in bringing together recent research on the mating systems of orthopterans, and discussing their behaviour in the light of current theory in behavioura].
Journal ArticleDOI
Use and misuse of the reduced major axis for line-fitting
TL;DR: The concept of error is reviewed and expanded from previous discussions, and it is argued that the symmetry-asymmetry issue should be the criterion by which investigators choose between RMA and OLS.