Escape behaviors in prey and the evolution of pennaceous plumage in dinosaurs
Abstract Numerous non-avian dinosaurs possessed pennaceous feathers on their forelimbs (proto-wings) and tail. Their functions remain unclear. We propose that these pennaceous feathers were used in displays to flush hiding prey through stimulation of sensory-neural escape pathways in prey, allowing...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-50225-x |
| _version_ | 1797276543983026176 |
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| author | Jinseok Park Minyoung Son Jeongyeol Park Sang Yun Bang Jungmoon Ha Hyungpil Moon Yuong-Nam Lee Sang-im Lee Piotr G. Jablonski |
| author_facet | Jinseok Park Minyoung Son Jeongyeol Park Sang Yun Bang Jungmoon Ha Hyungpil Moon Yuong-Nam Lee Sang-im Lee Piotr G. Jablonski |
| author_sort | Jinseok Park |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Numerous non-avian dinosaurs possessed pennaceous feathers on their forelimbs (proto-wings) and tail. Their functions remain unclear. We propose that these pennaceous feathers were used in displays to flush hiding prey through stimulation of sensory-neural escape pathways in prey, allowing the dinosaurs to pursue the flushed prey. We evaluated the escape behavior of grasshoppers to hypothetical visual flush-displays by a robotic dinosaur, and we recorded neurophysiological responses of grasshoppers’ escape pathway to computer animations of the hypothetical flush-displays by dinosaurs. We show that the prey of dinosaurs would have fled more often when proto-wings were present, especially distally and with contrasting patterns, and when caudal plumage, especially of a large area, was used during the hypothetical flush-displays. The reinforcing loop between flush and pursue functions could have contributed to the evolution of larger and stiffer feathers for faster running, maneuverability, and stronger flush-displays, promoting foraging based on the flush-pursue strategy. The flush-pursue hypothesis can explain the presence and distribution of the pennaceous feathers, plumage color contrasts, as well as a number of other features observed in early pennaraptorans. This scenario highlights that sensory-neural processes underlying prey’s antipredatory reactions may contribute to the origin of major evolutionary innovations in predators. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T15:30:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-61039edfa7b540d48c7b00be9a922856 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T15:30:39Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-61039edfa7b540d48c7b00be9a9228562024-03-05T16:28:05ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222024-01-0114112010.1038/s41598-023-50225-xEscape behaviors in prey and the evolution of pennaceous plumage in dinosaursJinseok Park0Minyoung Son1Jeongyeol Park2Sang Yun Bang3Jungmoon Ha4Hyungpil Moon5Yuong-Nam Lee6Sang-im Lee7Piotr G. Jablonski8School of Biological Sciences, Seoul National UniversitySchool of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Seoul National UniversityDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan UniversitySchool of Biological Sciences, Seoul National UniversitySchool of Biological Sciences, Seoul National UniversityDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan UniversitySchool of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Seoul National UniversityDepartment of New Biology, DGISTSchool of Biological Sciences, Seoul National UniversityAbstract Numerous non-avian dinosaurs possessed pennaceous feathers on their forelimbs (proto-wings) and tail. Their functions remain unclear. We propose that these pennaceous feathers were used in displays to flush hiding prey through stimulation of sensory-neural escape pathways in prey, allowing the dinosaurs to pursue the flushed prey. We evaluated the escape behavior of grasshoppers to hypothetical visual flush-displays by a robotic dinosaur, and we recorded neurophysiological responses of grasshoppers’ escape pathway to computer animations of the hypothetical flush-displays by dinosaurs. We show that the prey of dinosaurs would have fled more often when proto-wings were present, especially distally and with contrasting patterns, and when caudal plumage, especially of a large area, was used during the hypothetical flush-displays. The reinforcing loop between flush and pursue functions could have contributed to the evolution of larger and stiffer feathers for faster running, maneuverability, and stronger flush-displays, promoting foraging based on the flush-pursue strategy. The flush-pursue hypothesis can explain the presence and distribution of the pennaceous feathers, plumage color contrasts, as well as a number of other features observed in early pennaraptorans. This scenario highlights that sensory-neural processes underlying prey’s antipredatory reactions may contribute to the origin of major evolutionary innovations in predators.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-50225-x |
| spellingShingle | Jinseok Park Minyoung Son Jeongyeol Park Sang Yun Bang Jungmoon Ha Hyungpil Moon Yuong-Nam Lee Sang-im Lee Piotr G. Jablonski Escape behaviors in prey and the evolution of pennaceous plumage in dinosaurs Scientific Reports |
| title | Escape behaviors in prey and the evolution of pennaceous plumage in dinosaurs |
| title_full | Escape behaviors in prey and the evolution of pennaceous plumage in dinosaurs |
| title_fullStr | Escape behaviors in prey and the evolution of pennaceous plumage in dinosaurs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Escape behaviors in prey and the evolution of pennaceous plumage in dinosaurs |
| title_short | Escape behaviors in prey and the evolution of pennaceous plumage in dinosaurs |
| title_sort | escape behaviors in prey and the evolution of pennaceous plumage in dinosaurs |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-50225-x |
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