Protoceratopsid craniomandibular ontogeny with possible diet shift (free pdf)f
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Ben Creisler
Sep 3, 2025, 4:06:01 PM (5 days ago) Sep 3
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Ben Creisler
Chan-Gyu Yun and Łukasz Czepiński (2025)
Craniomandibular ontogeny of protoceratopsid dinosaurs indicates the possibility of an ontogenetic dietary shift
Lethaia 58(3): 1–17
doi: https://doi.org/10.18261/let.58.3.8
https://www.scup.com/doi/10.18261/let.58.3.8
It is widely assumed that non-avian dinosaurs changed their diet and niche as they grew, as do many modern vertebrates. However, studies that have rigorously investigated such possibility have been sparse. In this work, we quantified the ontogenetic allometry of craniomandibular ecomorphological correlates of two protoceratopsid dinosaurs, Protoceratops andrewsi and Bagaceratops rozhdestvenskyi. These early-diverging neoceratopsians are known from the number of specimens representing different growth stages. Despite the stark difference in body size between small juveniles and adults, many of the ecomorphological characters are found to be constant regardless of the size of an animal. This potentially suggests that juveniles of Protoceratops andrewsi and Bagaceratops rozhdestvenskyi were capable of feeding themselves, and could forage and feed on their own from an early stage of life. Nevertheless, some important changes, such as the positive allometry of the snout length and the coronoid process height, and the negative allometry of the distance between the quadrate and the maxillary tooth row in Protoceratops andrewsi, support the hypothesis of ontogenetic dietary shift in protoceratopsids. As the ontogenetic changes are linked to increase in bite force and foraging range, this implies that adult protoceratopsids were better adapted to feeding on tough vegetation compared to younger individuals.
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A new paper:
Free pdf:
Chan-Gyu Yun and Łukasz Czepiński (2025)
Craniomandibular ontogeny of protoceratopsid dinosaurs indicates the possibility of an ontogenetic dietary shift
Lethaia 58(3): 1–17
doi: https://doi.org/10.18261/let.58.3.8
https://www.scup.com/doi/10.18261/let.58.3.8
It is widely assumed that non-avian dinosaurs changed their diet and niche as they grew, as do many modern vertebrates. However, studies that have rigorously investigated such possibility have been sparse. In this work, we quantified the ontogenetic allometry of craniomandibular ecomorphological correlates of two protoceratopsid dinosaurs, Protoceratops andrewsi and Bagaceratops rozhdestvenskyi. These early-diverging neoceratopsians are known from the number of specimens representing different growth stages. Despite the stark difference in body size between small juveniles and adults, many of the ecomorphological characters are found to be constant regardless of the size of an animal. This potentially suggests that juveniles of Protoceratops andrewsi and Bagaceratops rozhdestvenskyi were capable of feeding themselves, and could forage and feed on their own from an early stage of life. Nevertheless, some important changes, such as the positive allometry of the snout length and the coronoid process height, and the negative allometry of the distance between the quadrate and the maxillary tooth row in Protoceratops andrewsi, support the hypothesis of ontogenetic dietary shift in protoceratopsids. As the ontogenetic changes are linked to increase in bite force and foraging range, this implies that adult protoceratopsids were better adapted to feeding on tough vegetation compared to younger individuals.
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