Ontogenetic variation of the Middle Triassic pseudosuchian Batrachotomus kupferzellensis: Implications for the palaeobiology of early archosaurs

中三叠世拟鳄类 Batrachotomus kupferzellensis 的个体发生变异：对早期古龙古生物学的启示

• 批准号: 325969278
• 负责人: Dr. Christian Foth
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart - Zentrum für Biodiversitätsforschung
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: Research Grants
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 德国
• 起止时间: 2015-12-31 至 2017-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/325969278?language=en
• 关键词: Ontogenetic; variation; Middle; Triassic; pseudosuchian

The clade of Archosauria consists of two main clades, the Ornithodira (including extant birds) and the Pseudosuchia (including extant crocodylians), and represents one of the most successful clades among tetrapods. Most of our knowledge of the palaeobiology of Mesozoic archosaurs (e.g. intraspecific variation, growth physiology and functional morphology) is based on ornithodirans (i.e. non-avian dinosaurs and pterosaurs), whereas respective knowledge is limited for early pseudosuchians, although the latter evolved a great taxonomic and ecological diversity, especially in the Triassic period. Due the availability of several specimens of different ontogenetic stages the pseudosuchian Batrachotomus kupferzellensis from the Middle Triassic outcrops of Baden Württemberg, which represents one of the terrestrial top predators during this time period, represents an appropriate object to study the palaeobiology of early pseudosuchians. Thus, the aim of the proposed project is to obtain better insights into this topic, using the Batrachotomus kupferzellensis as a model organism. Important questions to be answered during this project include the following: How long did Batrachotomus kupferzellensis take to grow to adult size and when did it reach sexual maturity? How far was its growth subject to seasonality? What does this tell us about growth rates in this taxon? Did the animal growth uniformly within different body regions? What are main ontogenetic changes in the osteology of Batrachotomus kupferzellensis? Are there changes in dentition (e.g. serration, morphology of teeth)? Do these data reveal ontogenetic differences in ecology, e.g. in terms of locomotion and feeding behaviour? If comparing the data with that of extant crocodylians, other basal pseudosuchians and basal dinosaurs, does the ontogenetic data of Batrachotomus kupferzellensis provide any evidence for heterochronic events in early archosaur evolution? What are the plesiomorphic ontogenetic and growth patterns of the hypothetical ancestor of Archosauria? The central methods to answer these questions will be the analysis of bone histology, morphometrics, detailed studies of the osteology as well as three-dimensional reconstructions of internal cranial structures based on MicroCT data. In sum, the proposed project will help to learn more about the palaeobiology of Batrachotomus kupferzellensis and closely related species, which also helps to understand their role as top-predators in the terrestrial ecosystems of the Triassic. Due to a wider comparison with other Archosauriformes, the project will obtain deeper insights in the palaeobiology of Triassic pseudosuchians and basal archosaurs in general.

主龙类包括两个主要分支：鸟龙类（包括现存鸟类）和拟鳄类（包括现存鳄鱼类），代表了我们对中生代古生物学（例如种内）的大部分了解。变异、生长生理学和功能形态）是基于鸟纲（即非鸟类恐龙和翼龙），而对早期拟鳄类的相关知识有限，尽管后者进化出了巨大的分类学和生态多样性，特别是在三叠纪时期，由于存在不同个体发育阶段的几个标本，来自中三叠世露头的拟鳄类Batrachotomus kupferzellensis。巴登符腾堡州的食肉动物代表了这一时期的陆地顶级掠食者之一，是研究古生物学的合适对象因此，该项目的目的是使用 Batrachotomus kupferzellensis 作为模式生物，更好地了解该主题，该项目期间需要回答的重要问题包括：Batrachotomus kupferzellensis 需要多长时间才能生长。它的生长在多大程度上受季节性影响？这告诉我们该类群的生长速度是否一致？ Batrachotomus kupferzellensis 的骨骼学发生变化吗？如果与现存鳄鱼的数据进行比较，这些数据是否揭示了生态学上的个体发生差异？ 、其他基础拟鳄类和基础恐龙，Batrachotomus kupferzellensis 的个体发育数据是否为早期的异时事件提供了任何证据？古龙的进化？假想祖先的拟态个体发育和生长模式是什么？回答这些问题的核心方法将是骨组织学、形态测量学、骨学的详细研究以及颅内三维重建。总之，拟议的项目将有助于更多地了解 Batrachotomus kupferzellensis 和密切相关物种的古生物学，这也有助于了解它们在三叠纪陆地生态系统中作为顶级捕食者的作用由于与其他主龙形目进行了更广泛的比较，该项目将获得对三叠纪拟鳄类和基础主龙的古生物学的更深入的了解。