Feeding biomechanics suggests progressive correlation of skull architecture and neck evolution in turtles

Autor(es)

Ferreira, Gabriel S. ^{[1, 2]} ; Lautenschlager, Stephan ^[3] ; Evers, Serjoscha W. ^{[4, 5]} ; Pfaff, Cathrin ^[6] ; Kriwet, Juergen ^[6] ; Raselli, Irena ^{[5, 7]} ; Werneburg, Ingmar ^{[1, 8]}

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Eberhard Karls Univ Tubingen, Fachbereich Geowissensch, Holderlinstr 12, D-72074 Tubingen - Germany

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Filosofia Ciencias & Letras Ribeirao Preto, Av Bandeirantes 3900, BR-14040901 Ribeirao Preto - Brazil

^[3] Univ Birmingham, Sch Geog Earth & Environm Sci, Birmingham B15 2TT, W Midlands - England

^[4] Univ Oxford, Dept Earth Sci, South Parks Rd, Oxford OX1 3AN - England

^[5] Univ Fribourg, Dept Geosci, Chemin Musee, CH-1700 Fribourg - Switzerland

^[6] Univ Vienna, Dept Palaeontol, Althanstr 14, A-1090 Vienna - Austria

^[7] Jurass Museum, Route Fontenais 21, CH-2900 Porrentruy - Switzerland

^[8] Eberhard Karls Univ Tubingen, Senckenberg Ctr Human Evolut & Palaeoenvironm HEP, Sigwartstr 10, D-72076 Tubingen - Germany

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: SCIENTIFIC REPORTS; v. 10, n. 1 MAR 26 2020.
• Citações Web of Science: 1

Resumo

The origin of turtles is one of the most long-lasting debates in evolutionary research. During their evolution, a series of modifications changed their relatively kinetic and anapsid skull into an elongated akinetic structure with a unique pulley system redirecting jaw adductor musculature. These modifications were thought to be strongly correlated to functional adaptations, especially to bite performance. We conducted a series of Finite Element Analyses (FEAs) of several species, including that of the oldest fully shelled, Triassic stem-turtle Proganochelys, to evaluate the role of force distribution and to test existing hypotheses on the evolution of turtle skull architecture. We found no support for a relation between the akinetic nature of the skull or the trochlear mechanisms with increased bite forces. Yet, the FEAs show that those modifications changed the skull architecture into an optimized structure, more resistant to higher loads while allowing material reduction on specific regions. We propose that the skull of modern turtles is the result of a complex process of progressive correlation between their heads and highly flexible necks, initiated by the origin of the shell. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 19/10620-2 - Macroevolução das tartarugas: contribuições de análises quantitativas, paleontologia virtual e biomecânicas
• Beneficiário: Gabriel de Souza Ferreira
• Linha de fomento: Bolsas no Brasil - Pós-Doutorado
• Processo FAPESP: 14/25379-5 - Evolução, morfologia e desenvolvimento da região do pterigóide em Testudines com foco em Pleurodira
• Beneficiário: Gabriel de Souza Ferreira
• Linha de fomento: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado
• Processo FAPESP: 16/03934-2 - Evolução e desenvolvimento da câmara adutora da mandíbula em tartarugas
• Beneficiário: Gabriel de Souza Ferreira
• Linha de fomento: Bolsas no Exterior - Estágio de Pesquisa - Doutorado