Paleoneuroanatomy of the European lambeosaurine dinosaur Arenysaurus ardevoli
The neuroanatomy of hadrosaurid dinosaurs is well known from North America and Asia. In Europe only a few cranial remains have been recovered that include the braincase. Arenysaurus is the first European endocast for which the paleoneuroanatomy has been studied. The resulting data have enabled us to...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
PeerJ Inc.
2015-02-01
|
| Series: | PeerJ |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/802.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797419251499270144 |
|---|---|
| author | P Cruzado-Caballero J Fortuny S Llacer JI Canudo |
| author_facet | P Cruzado-Caballero J Fortuny S Llacer JI Canudo |
| author_sort | P Cruzado-Caballero |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The neuroanatomy of hadrosaurid dinosaurs is well known from North America and Asia. In Europe only a few cranial remains have been recovered that include the braincase. Arenysaurus is the first European endocast for which the paleoneuroanatomy has been studied. The resulting data have enabled us to draw ontogenetic, phylogenetic and functional inferences. Arenysaurus preserves the endocast and the inner ear. This cranial material was CT scanned, and a 3D-model was generated. The endocast morphology supports a general pattern for hadrosaurids with some characters that distinguish it to a subfamily level, such as a brain cavity that is anteroposteriorly shorter or the angle of the major axis of the cerebral hemisphere to the horizontal in lambeosaurines. Both these characters are present in the endocast of Arenysaurus. Osteological features indicate an adult ontogenetic stage, while some paleoneuroanatomical features are indicative of a subadult ontogenetic stage. It is hypothesized that the presence of puzzling mixture of characters that suggest different ontogenetic stages for this specimen may reflect some degree of dwarfism in Arenysaurus. Regarding the inner ear, its structure shows differences from the ornithopod clade with respect to the height of the semicircular canals. These differences could lead to a decrease in the compensatory movements of eyes and head, with important implications for the paleobiology and behavior of hadrosaurid taxa such as Edmontosaurus, Parasaurolophus and Arenysaurus. The endocranial morphology of European hadrosaurids sheds new light on the evolution of this group and may reflect the conditions in the archipelago where these animals lived during the Late Cretaceous. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:45:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-df8bf914871341598855d3cb85587425 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:45:46Z |
| publishDate | 2015-02-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PeerJ |
| spelling | doaj.art-df8bf914871341598855d3cb855874252023-12-03T10:37:58ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592015-02-013e80210.7717/peerj.802802Paleoneuroanatomy of the European lambeosaurine dinosaur Arenysaurus ardevoliP Cruzado-Caballero0J Fortuny1S Llacer2JI Canudo3CONICET—Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y Geología, Universidad Nacional de Río Negro, Roca, Río Negro, ArgentinaInstitut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, C/Escola Industrial, Sabadell, SpainInstitut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, C/Escola Industrial, Sabadell, SpainÁrea de Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Zaragoza, C/Pedro Cerbuna, Zaragoza, SpainThe neuroanatomy of hadrosaurid dinosaurs is well known from North America and Asia. In Europe only a few cranial remains have been recovered that include the braincase. Arenysaurus is the first European endocast for which the paleoneuroanatomy has been studied. The resulting data have enabled us to draw ontogenetic, phylogenetic and functional inferences. Arenysaurus preserves the endocast and the inner ear. This cranial material was CT scanned, and a 3D-model was generated. The endocast morphology supports a general pattern for hadrosaurids with some characters that distinguish it to a subfamily level, such as a brain cavity that is anteroposteriorly shorter or the angle of the major axis of the cerebral hemisphere to the horizontal in lambeosaurines. Both these characters are present in the endocast of Arenysaurus. Osteological features indicate an adult ontogenetic stage, while some paleoneuroanatomical features are indicative of a subadult ontogenetic stage. It is hypothesized that the presence of puzzling mixture of characters that suggest different ontogenetic stages for this specimen may reflect some degree of dwarfism in Arenysaurus. Regarding the inner ear, its structure shows differences from the ornithopod clade with respect to the height of the semicircular canals. These differences could lead to a decrease in the compensatory movements of eyes and head, with important implications for the paleobiology and behavior of hadrosaurid taxa such as Edmontosaurus, Parasaurolophus and Arenysaurus. The endocranial morphology of European hadrosaurids sheds new light on the evolution of this group and may reflect the conditions in the archipelago where these animals lived during the Late Cretaceous.https://peerj.com/articles/802.pdfEuropean lambeosaurinePaleoneurologyHadrosauridPaleobiologyInner earDinosauria |
| spellingShingle | P Cruzado-Caballero J Fortuny S Llacer JI Canudo Paleoneuroanatomy of the European lambeosaurine dinosaur Arenysaurus ardevoli PeerJ European lambeosaurine Paleoneurology Hadrosaurid Paleobiology Inner ear Dinosauria |
| title | Paleoneuroanatomy of the European lambeosaurine dinosaur Arenysaurus ardevoli |
| title_full | Paleoneuroanatomy of the European lambeosaurine dinosaur Arenysaurus ardevoli |
| title_fullStr | Paleoneuroanatomy of the European lambeosaurine dinosaur Arenysaurus ardevoli |
| title_full_unstemmed | Paleoneuroanatomy of the European lambeosaurine dinosaur Arenysaurus ardevoli |
| title_short | Paleoneuroanatomy of the European lambeosaurine dinosaur Arenysaurus ardevoli |
| title_sort | paleoneuroanatomy of the european lambeosaurine dinosaur arenysaurus ardevoli |
| topic | European lambeosaurine Paleoneurology Hadrosaurid Paleobiology Inner ear Dinosauria |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/802.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT pcruzadocaballero paleoneuroanatomyoftheeuropeanlambeosaurinedinosaurarenysaurusardevoli AT jfortuny paleoneuroanatomyoftheeuropeanlambeosaurinedinosaurarenysaurusardevoli AT sllacer paleoneuroanatomyoftheeuropeanlambeosaurinedinosaurarenysaurusardevoli AT jicanudo paleoneuroanatomyoftheeuropeanlambeosaurinedinosaurarenysaurusardevoli |