Biomechanics of the mandibular musculature and feeding habits in Pterosauria

• Grant number: 23/11296-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: April 01, 2024
• End date: March 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Paleozoology
• Principal Investigator: Hussam El Dine Zaher
• Grantee: Rodrigo Vargas Pêgas
• Host Institution: Museu de Zoologia (MZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 25/05605-5 - Biomechanics of the mandibular musculature and feeding habits in Pterosauria: Chinese species with possible specialisations, BE.EP.PD

Abstract

Pterosaurs (archosaur reptiles) are extinct reptiles that lived from the Late Triassic to the Late Cretaceous, being the first vertebrates to achieve powered flight. Although studied for over 200 years, there are still many controversial questions regarding this group, including the evolution and diversity of feeding habits among different lineages - a topic of fundamental importance for the evolutionary history of the group. The existing dietary hypotheses for pterosaurs still lack substantial biomechanical testing, especially aided by 3D virtual reconstructions. This project aims to three-dimensionally reconstruct the mandibular musculature and infer bite force for eight species of pterosaurs belonging to distinct lineages, spanning from the Late Jurassic to the Late Cretaceous. This biomechanical study involves 3D virtual reconstruction of osteomuscular models of these species and comparison of their bite forces - utilizing cutting-edge technology that will produce unprecedented insights for pterosaurs. Biomechanical study results will allow for a more accurate determination of the various functions associated with mandibular morphology in these species, thus helping to discern the morphofunctional feeding adaptation patterns present in different pterosaur lineages and the paleoenvironmental niches occupied by this group during the Mesozoic. A deeper understanding of the niches occupied by pterosaurs during this time frame will have significant ecological implications, providing an appropriate morphofunctional basis for testing macroevolutionary hypotheses, such as a potential case of coevolution between frugivorous pterosaurs and the earliest angiosperm plants, as well as potential niche partitioning between pterosaurs and Mesozoic birds. (AU)

Scientific publications

(4)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

DA SILVA, JOAO LUCAS; BENTES, TABATA; PEGAS, RODRIGO V.; KELLNER, ALEXANDER W. A.; COSTA, FABIANA RODRIGUES. A new anhanguerid pterosaur specimen from the Romualdo Formation, Araripe Basin (Lower Cretaceous, Northeastern Brazil). HISTORICAL BIOLOGY, v. N/A, p. 22-pg., 2024-07-26. (19/10231-6, 22/03099-7, 23/11296-0)

GRIFFIN, BENJAMIN W.; MARTIN-SILVERSTONE, ELIZABETH; PEGAS, RODRIGO V.; MEILAK, ERIK ANTHONY; COSTA, FABIANA R.; PALMER, COLIN; RAYFIELD, EMILY J.. Modelling take-off moment arms in an ornithocheiraean pterosaur. PeerJ, v. 12, p. 25-pg., 2024-08-05. (19/10231-6, 22/03099-7, 23/11296-0)

MANITKOON, SITA; PEGAS, RODRIGO, V; NONSRIRACH, THANIT; WARAPEANG, PRAPASIRI; LAUPRASERT, KOMSORN; DEESRI, UTHUMPORN; TUMPEESUWAN, SAKBOWORN; WONGKO, KAMONLAK; ZHOU, XUANYU. First gnathosaurine (Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea) from the Early Cretaceous of eastern Thailand. CRETACEOUS RESEARCH, v. 173, p. 11-pg., 2025-09-01. (23/11296-0)

ZHOU, XUANYU; IKEGAMI, NAOKI; PEGAS, RODRIGO V.; YOSHINAGA, TORU; SATO, TAKAHIRO; MUKUNOKI, TOSHIFUMI; OTANI, JUN; KOBAYASHI, YOSHITSUGU. Reassessment of an azhdarchid pterosaur specimen from the Mifune Group, Upper Cretaceous of Japan. CRETACEOUS RESEARCH, v. 167, p. 10-pg., 2025-03-01. (23/11296-0)