Form, Function and Macroevolution in Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs dominated terrestrial ecosystems throughout the Mesozoic, and radiated into a diverse array of body shapes and sizes. They are therefore a model system for understanding the interactions between anatomy, function and ecology through time. However, there is currently a significant void between anatomical studies of dinosaurs and macroevolutionary analyses, and consequently the functional and ecomorphological pressures behind their evolutionary radiations are poorly understood. We will address this issue by quantitively reconstructing muscle evolution across dinosaur evolutionary history, and using sophisticated biomechanical modelling to assess the implications of muscle evolution on biomechanical performance and ecological adaption.

The aims of the project will be pursued through a number of specific objectives:

1. Quantify the relationship between skeletal and soft tissue proportions in extant taxa to derive predictive relationships for appendicular and masticatory muscles

2. Digitize dinosaur skeletons and apply the predictive relationships from (1) to quantify locomotor and masticatory muscle size evolution

3. Use phylogenetic comparative methods to examine the relationship between muscle size evolution and major macroevolutionary and ecological radiations

4. Use biomechanical computer simulations to study the impact of muscle size evolution on skull and limb function across major ecological transitions, e.g. the evolution of herbivory and quadrupedalism.