Cranial design and function in a large theropod dinosaur

Emily J. Rayfield (), David B. Norman, Celeste C. Horner, John R. Horner, Paula May Smith, Jeffrey J. Thomason and Paul Upchurch
Additional contact information
Emily J. Rayfield: University of Cambridge
David B. Norman: University of Cambridge
Celeste C. Horner: Museum of the Rockies, Montana State University
John R. Horner: Museum of the Rockies, Montana State University
Paula May Smith: University of Cambridge
Jeffrey J. Thomason: Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph
Paul Upchurch: University of Cambridge

Nature, 2001, vol. 409, issue 6823, 1033-1037

Abstract: Abstract Finite element analysis (FEA)1 is used by industrial designers and biomechanicists to estimate the performance of engineered structures or human skeletal and soft tissues subjected to varying regimes of stress and strain2,3,4. FEA is rarely applied to problems of biomechanical design in animals, despite its potential to inform structure–function analysis. Non-invasive techniques such as computed tomography scans can be used to generate accurate three-dimensional images of structures, such as skulls, which can form the basis of an accurate finite element model. Here we have applied this technique to the long skull of the large carnivorous theropod dinosaur Allosaurus fragilis5. We have generated the most geometrically complete and complex FEA model of the skull of any extinct or extant organism and used this to test its mechanical properties and examine, in a quantitative way, long-held hypotheses concerning overall shape and function6,7,8. The combination of a weak muscle-driven bite force, a very ‘light’ and ‘open’ skull architecture and unusually high cranial strength, suggests a very specific feeding behaviour for this animal. These results demonstrate simply the inherent potential of FEA for testing mechanical behaviour in fossils in ways that, until now, have been impossible.

Date: 2001
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/35059070 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:nature:v:409:y:2001:i:6823:d:10.1038_35059070

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/

DOI: 10.1038/35059070

Access Statistics for this article

Nature is currently edited by Magdalena Skipper

More articles in Nature from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().