Patterns of morphospace occupation and mechanical performance in extant crocodilian skulls: A combined geometric morphometric and finite element modeling approach

Journal of Morphology

Volumn 269, Issue 7, 2008, Pages 840-864

  Pierce, Stephanie E ^a,c   Angielczyk, Kenneth D ^b   Rayfield, Emily J ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL   (United Kingdom)

^b FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY   (United States)

^c ROYAL VETERINARY COLLEGE   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Biogeography; Correlation; Crocodylia; Disparity; Function; Morphology; Phylogeny

Indexed keywords

ALLIGATOR; CAIMAN LATIROSTRIS; CROCODYLIDAE (ALL CROCODILES); GAVIALIS; TOMISTOMA;

ALLIGATOR; ANIMAL; ARTICLE; ECOSYSTEM; FEEDING BEHAVIOR; FOSSIL; HISTOLOGY; PHYLOGENY; SKULL;

ALLIGATORS AND CROCODILES; ANIMALS; ECOSYSTEM; FEEDING BEHAVIOR; FOSSILS; PHYLOGENY; SKULL;

EID: 50349093901     PISSN: 03622525     EISSN: 10974687     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1002/jmor.10627     Document Type: Article

References (81)

1. Adams DC, Rohlf FJ. 2000. Ecological character displacement in Plethodon: Biomechanical differences found from a geometric morphometric study. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 97:4106-4111.
2. Anderson,TW. 1958. An Introduction to Multivariate Analysis. New York: Wiley.374 pp.
3. Bookstein FL. 1991. Morphometric Tools for Landmark Data. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 435 pp.
4. Brochu CA. 1997. Morphology, fossils, divergence timing, and the phylogenetic relationships of Gavialis. Syst Biol 46:479-522.
5. Brochu CA. 2001. Crocodylian snouts in space and time: Phylogenetic approaches toward adaptive radiation. Am Zool 41:564-585.
6. Brochu CA. 2003. Phylogenetic approaches toward crocodylian history. Annu Rev Earth Planet Sci 31:357-397.
7. Busbey AB. 1995. The structural consequences of skull flattening in crocodilians. In: Thomason JJ, editor. Functional Morphology in Vertebrate Paleontology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp 173-192.
8. Clark JM. 1994. Patterns of evolution in Mesozoic Crocodyliformes. In: Fraser N, Sues H-D, editors. In the Shadow of the Dinosaurs: Early Mesozoic tetrapods. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp 84-97.
9. Claude J, Pritchard P, Tong H, Paradis E, Auffray J-C. 2004. Ecological correlates and evolutionary divergences in the skull of turtles: A geometric morphometric assessment. Syst Biol 53:933-948.
10. Cleuren J, Vree FD. 2000. Feeding in crocodilians. In: Schwenk K, editor. Feeding: Form, Function, and Evolution in Tetrapod Vertebrates. San Diego: Academic Press. pp 337-358.
11. Cogger HG, Zweifel RG. 2003. Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians: A Comprehensive Illustrated Guide by International Experts. San Francisco, California: Fog City Press.
12. Currey JD. 1987. The evolution of the mechanical properties of amniote bone. J Biomech 20:1035-1044.
13. Daniel WJT, McHenry C. 2000. Bite force to skull stress correlation: Modelling the skull of Alligator mississippiensis. In: Grigg GC, F. Seebacher, C. E. Franklin, editors. Crocodilian Biology and Evolution. New South Wales, Australia: Surrey Beatty and Sons. pp. 135-143.
14. Densmore LDI, Owen RD. 1989. Molecular systematics of the Order Crocodylia. Am Zool 29:831-841.
15. Diefenbach CO. 1979. Ampullarid gastropods-staple food of Camian latirostris. Copeia 1:162-163.
16. Dumont ER, Piccirillo J. Grosse IR. 2005. Finite-element analysis of biting behavior and bone stress in the facial skeletons of bats. Anat Rec A 283:319-330.
17. Endo H, Aoki R, Taru H, Kimura J, Sasaki M, Yamamoto M, Arishima K, Hayashi Y. 2002. Comparative functional morphology of the masticatory apparatus in the long-snouted crocodiles. Anat Histol Embryol 31:206-213.
18. Erickson GM, Lappin AK, Vliet KA. 2003. The ontogeny of bite-force performance in American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). J Zool 260:317-327.
19. Felsenstein J. 1985. Phylogenies and the comparative method. Am Nat 125:1-15.
20. Foote M. 1993. Contributions of individual taxa to overall morphological disparity. Paleobiology 19:403-419.
21. Foote M. 1997. The evolution of morphological diversity. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 28:129-152.
22. Gatesy J, Baker RH, Hayashi C. 2004. Inconsistencies in arguments for the supertree approach: Supermatrices versus supertrees of Crocodylia. Syst Biol 53:342-355.
23. Herrel A, O'Reilly JC, Richmond AM. 2002. Evolution of bite performance in turtles. J Evol Biol 15:1083-1094.
24. Herrel A, Podos J, Huber SK, Hendry AP. 2005. Bite performance and morphology in a population of Darwin's finches: Implications for the evolution of beak shape. Funct Ecol 19:43-48.
25. Herron JC. 1994. Body size, spatial distribution, and microhabitat use in caimans. Melanosuchus niger and Caiman crocodylus, in a Peruvian lake. J Herpetol 28:508-513.
26. Hulsey CD, Wainwright PC. 2002. Projecting mechanics into morphospace: Disparity in the feeding system of labrid fishes. Proc Roy Soc Lond 269:317-326.
27. Iordansky NN. 1973. The skull of the Crocodrilia. In: Gans C. Parsons T, editors. Biology of the Reptilia. London: Academic Press. pp 201-262.
28. Kofron CP. 1992. Status and habitats of the three African crocodiles in Liberia. J Trop Ecol 8:265-273.
29. Langston W. 1973. The crocodilian skull in historical perspective. In: Gans C, Parsons T, editors. Biology of the Reptilia. London: Academic Press. pp 263-284.
30. Lauder GV. 1995. On the inference of function from structure. In: Thomason JJ, editor. Functional Morphology in Vertebrate Paleontology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp 1-18.
31. Lydekker R. 1888. Catalogue of the Fossil Reptilia and Amphibia in the British Museum (Natural History), Part 1. London: British Museum (Natural History).
32. Maddison WP, Maddison DR. 2006. Mesquite: A modular system for evolutionary analysis. Available at: http://mesquite-project.org/mesquite/ mesquite.html. Accessed on 12 Apr 2008.
33. Magnusson WE. 1985. Habitat selection, parasites and injuries in Amazonian crocodilians. Amazoniana 9:193-204.
34. Magnusson WE, de Silva EV, Lima AP. 1987. Diets of Amazonian crocodilians. J Herpetol 21:85-95.
35. Mantel NA. 1967. The detection of disease clustering and a generalized regression approach. Cancer Res 27:209-222.
36. Martins, EP. 2005. COMPARE, version 4.6b. Computer programs for the statistical analysis of comparative data. Available at: http://compare.bio. indiana.edu/.
37. Massare JA. 1987. Tooth morphology and prey preference of Mesozoic marine reptiles. J Vert Paleont 7:121-137.
38. McHenry CR, Clausen PD, Daniel WJT, Meers MB, Pendharkar A. 2006. Biomechanics of the rostrum in crocodilians: A comparative analysis using finite element modeling. Anat Rec A 288:827-849.
39. Meers MB. 2002. Maximum bite force and prey size of Tyrannosaurus rex and their relationship to the inference of feeding behaviour. Hist Biol 16:1-12.
40. Metzger KA, Daniel WJT, Ross CF. 2005. Comparison of beam theory and finite-element analysis with in vivo bone strain data from the Alligator cranium. Anat Rec A 283:331-348.
41. Milne N, O'Higgins P. 2002. Inter-specific variation in Macropus crania: Form, function, and phylogeny. J Zool 256:523-535.
42. Monteiro LR, Abe AS. 1999. Functional and historical determinants of shape in the scapula of Xenarthran mammals: Evolution of a complex morphological structure. J Morphol 241:251-263.
43. Monteiro LR, Cavalcanti MJ, Sommer HJS III. 1997. Comparative ontogenetic shape change in the skull of Caiman species (Crocodylia, Alligatoridae). J Morphol 231:53-62.
44. Morrison DF. 1990. Multivariate Statistical Methods. New York: McGraw-Hill. 495 pp.
45. Norell MA. 1989. The higher level relationships of the extant Crocodylia. J Herpet 23:325-335.
46. O'Higgins P, Jones N. 2006. Tools for statistical shape analysis. Hull York Medical School. Available at: http://www.york.ac.uk/res/fme/resources/ software.htm. Accessed on 12 Apr 2008.
47. O'Keefe FR. 2002. The evolution of plesiosaur and pliosaur morphotypes in the Plesiosauria (Reptilia: Sauropterygia). Paleobiology 28:101-112.
48. Rayfield EJ. 2004. Cranial mechanics and feeding in Tyrannosaurus rex. Proc Roy Soc Lond 271:1451-1459.
49. Rebêlo GH, Lugli L. 2001. Distribution and abundance of four caiman species (Crocodylia: Alligatoridae) in Jaú National Park, Amazonas, Brazil. Rev Biol Trop 49:1096-1109.
50. Reilly DT, Burstein AH. 1974. The mechanical properties of cortical bone. J Bone Joint Surg A 36:1006-1027.
51. Rohlf FJ. 1990. Rotational fit (Procrustes) method. In: Rohlf FJ, Bookstein FR, editors. In: Proceedings of the Michigan Morphometrics Workshop. Michigan: University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Special Publication. pp 227-236.
52. RohlfFJ. 2003a. tpsSmall 1.20. Stony Brook: Department of Ecology and Evolution, State University of New York. Available at: http://life.bio.sunysb. edu/morph/. Accessed on 12 Apr 2008.
53. Rohlf FJ. 2003b. tpsRegr 1.28. Stony Brook: Department of Ecology and Evolution, State University of New York. Available at: http://life.bio.sunysb. edu/morph/. Accessed on 12 Apr 2008.
54. Rohlf FJ. 2005. tpsDig 2.04. Stoney Brook: Department of Ecology and Evolution, State Univeristy of New York. Available at: http://life.bio.sunysb. edu/morph/. Accessed on 12 Apr 2008.
55. Russell AP, Wu X-C. 1997. The Crocodylomorpha at and between geological boundaries: The Baden-Powell approach to change? Zoology 100:164-198.
56. Salisbury SW, Molnar RE, Frey E, Willis PMA. 2006. The origin of modern crocodyliforms: New evidence from the Cretaceous of Australia. Proc Roy Soc Lond 273:1-11.
57. Sereno PC, Beck AL, Dutheil D, Gado B, Larsson HCE, Lyon GH, Marcot JD, Rauhut OWM, Sadleir RW, Sidor CA, Varricchio DD, Wilson GP, Wilson JA. 1998. A long-snouted predatory dinosaur from Africa and the evolution of spinosaurids. Science 282:66-72.
58. Sereno PC, Larsson HCE, Sidor CA, Gado B. 2001. A giant crocodyliform Sarcosuchus from the Cretaceous of Africa. Science 294:1516-1519.
59. Sheets HD. 2000. TwoGroup 6h: Available at: http://www2/canisius.edu/ ~sheets/morphsoft.html. Accessed 12 Apr 2008.
60. Sheets HD. 2001a. BigFix 6. Available at: http://www2/canisius.edu/ ~sheets/morphsoft.html. Accessed 12 Apr 2008.
61. Sheets HD. 2001b. CoordGen 6f. Available at: http://www2/canisius.edu/ ~sheets/morphsoft.html. Accessed 12 Apr 2008.
62. Sheets HD. 2001c. PCAGen 6n: Available at: http://www2/canisius.edu/ ~sheets/morphsoft.html. Accessed 12 Apr 2008.
63. Sheets HD. 2003. TBox 6: Available at: http://www2/canisius.edu/~sheets/ morphsoft.html. Accessed 12 Apr 2008.
64. Sheets HD. 2006. DisparityBox 6i: Available at: http://www2/canisius.edu/~sheets/morphsoft.html. Accessed 12 Apr 2008.
65. Stayton CT. 2005. Morphological evolution of the lizard skull: A geometric morphometric survey. J Morphol 263:47-59.
66. Stayton CT. 2006. Testing hypotheses of convergence with multivariate data: Morphological and functional convergence among herbivorous lizards. Evolution 60:824-841.
67. Stayton CT, Ruta M. 2006. Geometric morphometrics of the skull roof of stereospondyls (Amphibia: Temnospondyli). Palaeontology 49:307-337.
68. Swofford,DL. 2001. PAUP*. Phylogenetic Analysis Using Parsimony (*and Other Methods). Version 4.0b10a. Sunderland: Sinauer Associates.
69. Taylor MA. 1987. How tetrapods feed in water: A functional analysis by paradigm. Zool J Linn Soc 91:171-195.
70. Taylor MA, Cruickshank ARI. 1993. Cranial anatomy and functional morphology of Pliosaurus brachyspondylus (Reptilia: Plesiosauria) from the Upper Jurassic of Westbury, Wiltshire. Phil Trans R Soc Lond 341:399-418.
71. Thorbjarnarson JB. 1990. Notes on the feeding behavior of the gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) under semi-natural conditions. J Herpetol 24:99-100.
72. Thorbjarnarson JB. 1993. Fishing behavior of spectacled caiman in Venezuelan Llanos. Copeia 4:1166-1171.
73. Toft CA. 1985. Resource partitioning in amphibians and reptiles. Copeia 1985:1-21.
74. Verwaijen D, van Damme R, Herrel A. 2002. Relationships between head size, bite force, prey handling efficiency and diet in two sympatric lacerid lizards. Funct Ecol 16:842-850.
75. von Zittel KA. 1890. Handbuch der Palaontologie, Vol 3. Vertebrata (Pisces, Amphibia, Reptilia, Aves). Munich: Oldenbourg.
76. Webb GJW, Manolis SC, Sack GC. 1983. Crocodylus johnstoni and C. porosus coexisting in a tidal river. Aust Wildl Res 10:639-650.
77. Willis RE, McAliley LR, Neeley ED, Densmore LD. 2007. Evidence for placing the false gharial (Tomistoma schlegelii) into the family Gavialidae: Inferences from nuclear gene sequences. Mol Phylogent Evol 43:787-794.
78. Wills MA, Fortey RA. 2000. The shape of life: How much is written in stone? Bioessays 22:1142-1152.
79. Young WC, Budynas R. 2001. Roark's Formulas for Stress and Strain. New York: McGraw-Hill. 832 p.
80. Zelditch ML, Sheets HD, Fink WL. 2003. The ontogenetic dynamics of shape disparity. Paleobiology 29:139-156.
81. Zelditch ML, Swiderski DL, Sheets HD, Fink WL. 2004. Geometric Morphometrics for Biologists: A Primer. San Diego, California: Elsevier Academic Press. 443 p.