Evidence for tactile foraging in pterosaurs: a sensitive tip to the beak of Lonchodraco giganteus (Pterosauria, Lonchodectidae) from the Upper Cretaceous of southern England

Martill, David M.; Smith, Roy E.; Longrich, Nicholas R.; Brown, James F.

doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104637

Cited by 16 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 43 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In chelonians it sends off a large number of long lateral branches, consistent with the very high number of supralabial foramina that supply the rhamphotheca (Albrecht, 1967;Morhardt, 2009;Benoit et al, 2018). No data is presently available on the maxillary canal of pterosaurs, but given the variation in number and position of their rostral neurovascular foramina (Martill et al, 2021), some departure is expected from the primitive condition described above.…”

Section: Which Nerve(s) Occupied the Premaxillary Canals?mentioning

confidence: 83%

“…Tyrannosaurus rex is probably the most popular and incidentally best-known theropod dinosaur thanks to a century of uninterrupted research efforts. New technologies and cutting-edge techniques have been used to investigate an unmatched number of aspects of T. rex palaeobiology, phylogeny, ontogeny, body mass, intraspecific variability, behaviour, paleoproteomics, paleopathology, neurovasculature, and sensory organs (Erickson et al, 1996;Organ et al, 2008;Schweitzer et al, 2009Schweitzer et al, , 2016Witmer and Ridgely, 2009;Longrich et al, 2010;DePalma et al, 2013;Parrish et al, 2013;Brusatte and Carr, 2016;Carr, 2020;Woodward et al, 2020;Brown et al, 2021). In 2000, X-ray imaging was applied to the specimen FMNH PR 2081 (also known as "Sue") of Tyrannosaurus rex for the first time by Christopher A. Brochu and colleagues from the Field Museum of Natural History (Brochu, 2000(Brochu, , 2003.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The rostral neurovascular system of Tyrannosaurus rex

Bouabdellah¹,

Lessner²,

Benoît³

2022

Palaeontol Electron

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The study of the rostral neurovascular system using CT scanning has shed new light on phylogenetic and palaeobiological reconstructions of many extinct tetrapods. This research shows a detailed description of the rostral neurovascular canals of Tyrannosaurus rex including the nasal, maxillary (dorsal alveolar), and mandibular (ventral alveolar) canals. Extensive comparisons with published descriptions show that the pattern of these canals in Tyrannosaurus is not unusual for a non-avian theropod. As in the non-avian theropod Neovenator, the maxillary canal shows several anastomoses of its branches. Differences from the plesiomorphic sauropsid condition are concentrated within the canal for the maxillary neurovasculature, which is primitively horizontal, tubular, and connected to a single row of supralabial foramina, whereas in Tyrannosaurus the main trunk of the canal is oriented more obliquely and dorsally displaced to give room to the deep tooth alveolae. As a result, the lateral branches that provide innervation and blood supply to the skin are dorsoventrally elongated compared to non-theropod taxa, and multiple rows of supralabial foramina are present. An overview of the literature suggests that the evolution of the trigeminal canals among sauropsids only weakly supports previous hypotheses of crocodile-like facial sensitivity in non-avian theropods (except, maybe, in semiaquatic taxa). More systematic studies of the rostral neurovascular canals in non-avian theropods may help answer the question of whether lips were present or not.

show abstract

Section: Which Nerve(s) Occupied the Premaxillary Canals?mentioning

confidence: 83%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The rostral neurovascular system of Tyrannosaurus rex

Bouabdellah¹,

Lessner²,

Benoît³

2022

Palaeontol Electron

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Similar tactile sensors also occur in crocodylians (Leitch and Catania, 2012;Di-Poï and Milinkovitch, 2013) where they are associated with elaboration of facial nerves similar to that seen in mosasaurs. Increased numbers of neurovascular foramina are also seen in tactile foraging birds such as sandpipers and kiwis (Martill et al, 2021). Among extinct taxa, the densely innervated premaxillae of pliosaurs (Foffa et al, 2014) and certain pterosaurs (Martill et al, 2021) have been proposed to be adaptations for foraging using mechanoreception.…”

Section: Ecology Of Pluridensmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Increased numbers of neurovascular foramina are also seen in tactile foraging birds such as sandpipers and kiwis (Martill et al, 2021). Among extinct taxa, the densely innervated premaxillae of pliosaurs (Foffa et al, 2014) and certain pterosaurs (Martill et al, 2021) have been proposed to be adaptations for foraging using mechanoreception.…”

Section: Ecology Of Pluridensmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pluridens serpentis, a new mosasaurid (Mosasauridae: Halisaurinae) from the Maastrichtian of Morocco and implications for mosasaur diversity

Longrich

Bardet²,

Khaldoune

et al. 2021

Cretaceous Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mosasaurids (Mosasauridae) were specialized marine lizards that evolved and radiated in the Late Cretaceous. Their diversity peaked in the Maastrichtian, with the most diverse faunas known from Morocco. Here we describe a new species of mosasaurid from this fauna. Pluridens serpentis sp. nov. is described based on two complete skulls and referred jaws. It is referred to Pluridens based on the elongate and robust jaws, small teeth, and specialized tooth implantation. Pluridens is referred to Halisaurinae based on the posteriorly expanded premaxilla, long premaxillamaxilla suture, broad premaxillary facet on the maxilla, closed otic notch, and small, striated, hooked teeth. The orbits are reduced relative to other halisaurines while the snout is robust and flat with a broad, rounded tip. The jaws bear numerous small, hooked, snake-like teeth. Skulls imply lengths of 5-6 meters; referred material suggests lengths of ≥10 meters. Pluridens' specialized morphology -especially the contrasting large size and small teeth -suggests a distinct feeding strategy. Small orbits imply that P. serpentis relied on nonvisual cues including touch and chemoreception during foraging, as in modern marine snakes. Numerous neurovascular foramina on the premaxillae are consistent with this idea.The small teeth suggest proportionately small prey. The dentary becomes massive and robust in the largest individuals, suggesting sexual selection and perhaps sexual dimorphism, with the mandibles possibly functioning for combat as in modern beaked whales and lizards. The new mosasaur emphasizes how Maastrichtian mosasaurids were characterized by high species richness, functional diversity of niches occupied, and a certain degree of endemism, i.e. geographic specialization. and continued diversifying until the end of the Cretaceous, just prior to the K-Pg extinction.

show abstract

“…The line is distinctly elevated above the maxilla's ventral margin, an unusual condition shared with Globidens alabamaensis (Gilmore, 1912) but not other Globidens (Polcyn et al, 2010), or other Mosasaurini. The elaboration of these foramina may be associated with the development of nerves for mechanoreptors (Martill et al, 2021), which similar to modern sea J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f snakes (Crowe-Riddell et al, 2016;Crowe-Riddell et al, 2019), may have been used to sense water pressure.…”

Section: J O U R N a L P R E -P R O O Fmentioning

confidence: 99%