Université de Fribourg

Cranial ontogenetic variation in early saurischians and the role of heterochrony in the diversification of predatory dinosaurs

Foth​, Christian ; Hedrick, Brandon P. ; Ezcurra, Martin D.

In: PeerJ, 2016, vol. 4, p. e1589

Non-avian saurischian skulls underwent at least 165 million years of evolution and shapes varied from elongated skulls, such as in the theropod Coelophysis, to short and box-shaped skulls, such as in the sauropod Camarasaurus. A number of factors have long been considered to drive skull shape, including phylogeny, dietary preferences and functional constraints. However, heterochrony is...