Dinosaur Paleobiology in PDF
Dinosaur Paleobiology in PDF
Dinosaur Paleobiology in PDF
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<strong>D<strong>in</strong>osaur</strong> <strong>Paleobiology</strong><br />
Geology 331<br />
Paleontology
<strong>D<strong>in</strong>osaur</strong>s are<br />
popular with<br />
the public
Jack<br />
Horner,<br />
Montana<br />
State<br />
Univ.
Field Work<br />
<strong>in</strong> Montana
A d<strong>in</strong>osaur “drumstick” <strong>in</strong> its field jacket.
Velociraptor<br />
was a very<br />
active<br />
predator
Utahraptor wait<strong>in</strong>g to ambush
Velociraptors hunted <strong>in</strong> packs
Abundant vascular canals <strong>in</strong><br />
d<strong>in</strong>osaur bone support the warm-<br />
blooded theory
Th<strong>in</strong> section of d<strong>in</strong>osaur bone<br />
www.bio.fsu.edu/erickson/histological_analysis.php
2 Chambers:<br />
Fish<br />
Heart Structure<br />
3 Chambers:<br />
Lizard<br />
4 Chambers:<br />
Birds & Mammals
Fossilized heart <strong>in</strong> an ornithopod.<br />
CAT scan shows it has 4 chambers.
RV<br />
LV
Evidence for <strong>D<strong>in</strong>osaur</strong> Endothermy<br />
• Erect and bipedal posture<br />
• Bone histology – abundant vascular canals<br />
• Head above the heart required high blood<br />
pressure and, thus, a four-chambered heart:<br />
2 ventricles and 2 atriums.<br />
• Fossilized four-chambered heart?<br />
• Birds are descendants of theropods<br />
• High latitude occurrences – how did they<br />
survive months of darkness?<br />
• Predator:prey biomass ratio of 1:20 from the<br />
Late Cretaceous of Alberta similar to modern<br />
endotherms. Modern ectotherms are 1:3.
<strong>D<strong>in</strong>osaur</strong> classification
Hip Bones: The Primary Homology<br />
Difference Between the Two Major<br />
<strong>D<strong>in</strong>osaur</strong> Groups<br />
Saurischian Ornithischian
Saurischian hip structure (theropod)<br />
Pubis<br />
Ischium
Saurischian hip structure (sauropod)<br />
Pubis<br />
Ischium
Ornithiscian hip structure (stegosaur)<br />
Ischium<br />
Pubis
Excavat<strong>in</strong>g bones at <strong>D<strong>in</strong>osaur</strong><br />
National Monument <strong>in</strong> Utah
A d<strong>in</strong>osaur<br />
mummy<br />
from<br />
Mongolia
Coelophysis,<br />
a late<br />
Triassic<br />
bipedal<br />
ancestor
Tyrannosaurus rex, the<br />
Cretaceous theropod everyone<br />
loves to fear
Modern view of a T.rex
Peter Larson with Sue Hendrickson,<br />
founder of the T. rex named “Sue”<br />
I found it<br />
first!
Sue on display <strong>in</strong> Chicago
T. rex, Stan<br />
Black Hills Institute
Tyrannosaurs, Carnegie Museum, 2009
Mechanical<br />
model of T. rex<br />
shatters a large<br />
bone
Peter Larson with a Nanotyrannosaurus skull<br />
at his lab at the Black Hills Institute, SD
More scenes at the<br />
Black Hills Institute, SD
Compsognathus,<br />
a chicken-sized<br />
theropod. It’s<br />
skeleton is similar<br />
to Archaeopteryx.<br />
The “compies” of<br />
Jurassic Park.
Archaeopteryx,<br />
the first bird. Its<br />
skeleton is nearly<br />
identical to<br />
Compsognathus.
A feathered(?) Velociraptor
Apatosaurus or Brontosaurus, the<br />
classic sauropod
Apatosaurus out for a stroll
A modern view of sauropods
Sauropod trackways show<strong>in</strong>g no evidence<br />
of tail dragg<strong>in</strong>g.
Diplodocus - a gracile sauropod
Sauropods, Carnegie<br />
Museum, 2008
Sauropods, Carnegie<br />
Museum, 2008
Sauropods, Carnegie<br />
Museum, 2008
Sauropods, Carnegie Museum, 2008
Sauropods, Carnegie Museum, 2008<br />
Looks like<br />
your diet is<br />
work<strong>in</strong>g!
Sauropods eat<strong>in</strong>g a coniferous forest
The massive digestive system of a<br />
sauropod, note the large gizzard
Inside of sauropod gizzard, note the<br />
gastroliths for gr<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g food
Sauropod gastroliths
Sauropods protect<strong>in</strong>g<br />
their young, South<br />
America
Theropod tracks <strong>in</strong> Utah
Iguanodon,<br />
an<br />
ornithopod
A Cretaceous ornithopod
Crested hadrosaur or “duck-bill”
Duck-billed hadrosaur
Hadrosaur<br />
barbershop<br />
wall chart
Skull of a pachycephalosaur
Head butt<strong>in</strong>g by pachycephalosaurs
Stegosaurus
Stegosaurus
Ankylosaurus
Protoceratops from Mongolia
Triceratops at the Smithsonian Institution
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