Morphology of the maxilla informs about the type of predation strategy in the evolution of Abelisauridae (Dinosauria: Theropoda)

Autores
Seculi Pereyra, Enzo Emanuel; Vrdoljak, Juan Esteban; Ezcurra, Martin Daniel; González Dionis, Javier; Paschetta, Carolina Andrea; Méndez, Ariel Hernán
Año de publicación
2025
Idioma
inglés
Tipo de recurso
artículo
Estado
versión publicada
Descripción
Abelisauridae is a clade of theropods distinguished by short, ornamented skulls and strongly reduced forelimbs. They represented the most abundant predatory dinosaurs in Gondwana during the Cretaceous. Bolstered by biomechanical studies, the morphology of the skull and vertebral column of abelisaurids, have led researchers to hypothesize that Late Cretaceous forms were “specialized hunters.” Here, we use the morphology of the abelisaurid maxilla to test the inclusion of the Lower Cretaceous Spectrovenator within the specialized hunter category. Additionally, we analyze the diversity and disparity of the abelisaurid maxilla in a macroevolutionary context. We quantified the maxillary shape in 17 taxa using 2D geometric morphometrics and analyzed different evolutionary scenarios and trends with phylogenetic comparative methods. The results of all the analyses (phylogenetic ordination methods, Z, and R2 comparison in phylogenetic generalized least squares, model selection, and estimated taxa-removal analysis) suggest that the hunter specialization appeared during the Early Cretaceous, revealing that Cretaceous abelisaurids can be considered specialist hunters. High levels of morphological disparity in the maxilla occurred shortly after the Cenomanian-Turonian faunistic turnover, which involved drastic changes in the South American terrestrial faunal assemblages. Moreover, the high evolutionary rates of the maxillary shape change in Abelisauridae support a shift in ecological pressures or socio-sexual mechanisms, which were the main drivers of the evolution of the clade rostrum. Our study invites to analyze more osteological elements of the abelisaurid skull under a quantitative macroevolutionary framework to test our results more comprehensively.
Fil: Seculi Pereyra, Enzo Emanuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto Patagónico de Geología y Paleontología; Argentina
Fil: Vrdoljak, Juan Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto Patagónico para el Estudio de los Ecosistemas Continentales; Argentina
Fil: Ezcurra, Martin Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; Argentina
Fil: González Dionis, Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto Patagónico de Geología y Paleontología; Argentina
Fil: Paschetta, Carolina Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto Patagónico de Ciencias Sociales y Humanas; Argentina
Fil: Méndez, Ariel Hernán. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto Patagónico de Geología y Paleontología; Argentina
Materia
Abelisauridae
Specialist predation strategy
Late Cretaceous abelisaurids
Phylogenetic Comparative Methods
Nivel de accesibilidad
acceso abierto
Condiciones de uso
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar/
Repositorio
CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Institución
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
OAI Identificador
oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/288378
Acceder
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network_name_str CONICET Digital (CONICET)
spelling Morphology of the maxilla informs about the type of predation strategy in the evolution of Abelisauridae (Dinosauria: Theropoda)Seculi Pereyra, Enzo EmanuelVrdoljak, Juan EstebanEzcurra, Martin DanielGonzález Dionis, JavierPaschetta, Carolina AndreaMéndez, Ariel HernánAbelisauridaeSpecialist predation strategyLate Cretaceous abelisauridsPhylogenetic Comparative Methodshttps://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1Abelisauridae is a clade of theropods distinguished by short, ornamented skulls and strongly reduced forelimbs. They represented the most abundant predatory dinosaurs in Gondwana during the Cretaceous. Bolstered by biomechanical studies, the morphology of the skull and vertebral column of abelisaurids, have led researchers to hypothesize that Late Cretaceous forms were “specialized hunters.” Here, we use the morphology of the abelisaurid maxilla to test the inclusion of the Lower Cretaceous Spectrovenator within the specialized hunter category. Additionally, we analyze the diversity and disparity of the abelisaurid maxilla in a macroevolutionary context. We quantified the maxillary shape in 17 taxa using 2D geometric morphometrics and analyzed different evolutionary scenarios and trends with phylogenetic comparative methods. The results of all the analyses (phylogenetic ordination methods, Z, and R2 comparison in phylogenetic generalized least squares, model selection, and estimated taxa-removal analysis) suggest that the hunter specialization appeared during the Early Cretaceous, revealing that Cretaceous abelisaurids can be considered specialist hunters. High levels of morphological disparity in the maxilla occurred shortly after the Cenomanian-Turonian faunistic turnover, which involved drastic changes in the South American terrestrial faunal assemblages. Moreover, the high evolutionary rates of the maxillary shape change in Abelisauridae support a shift in ecological pressures or socio-sexual mechanisms, which were the main drivers of the evolution of the clade rostrum. Our study invites to analyze more osteological elements of the abelisaurid skull under a quantitative macroevolutionary framework to test our results more comprehensively.Fil: Seculi Pereyra, Enzo Emanuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto Patagónico de Geología y Paleontología; ArgentinaFil: Vrdoljak, Juan Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto Patagónico para el Estudio de los Ecosistemas Continentales; ArgentinaFil: Ezcurra, Martin Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: González Dionis, Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto Patagónico de Geología y Paleontología; ArgentinaFil: Paschetta, Carolina Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto Patagónico de Ciencias Sociales y Humanas; ArgentinaFil: Méndez, Ariel Hernán. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto Patagónico de Geología y Paleontología; ArgentinaNature2025-03info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/11336/288378Seculi Pereyra, Enzo Emanuel; Vrdoljak, Juan Esteban; Ezcurra, Martin Daniel; González Dionis, Javier; Paschetta, Carolina Andrea; et al.; Morphology of the maxilla informs about the type of predation strategy in the evolution of Abelisauridae (Dinosauria: Theropoda); Nature; Scientific Reports; 15; 1; 3-2025; 1-122045-2322CONICET DigitalCONICETenginfo:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-87289-winfo:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1038/s41598-025-87289-winfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar/reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas2026-08-25T14:36:22Zoai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/288378instacron:CONICETInstitucionalhttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/Organismo científico-tecnológicoNo correspondehttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/oai/requestdasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:34982026-08-25 14:36:22.912CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicasfalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Morphology of the maxilla informs about the type of predation strategy in the evolution of Abelisauridae (Dinosauria: Theropoda)
title Morphology of the maxilla informs about the type of predation strategy in the evolution of Abelisauridae (Dinosauria: Theropoda)
spellingShingle Morphology of the maxilla informs about the type of predation strategy in the evolution of Abelisauridae (Dinosauria: Theropoda)
Seculi Pereyra, Enzo Emanuel
Abelisauridae
Specialist predation strategy
Late Cretaceous abelisaurids
Phylogenetic Comparative Methods
title_short Morphology of the maxilla informs about the type of predation strategy in the evolution of Abelisauridae (Dinosauria: Theropoda)
title_full Morphology of the maxilla informs about the type of predation strategy in the evolution of Abelisauridae (Dinosauria: Theropoda)
title_fullStr Morphology of the maxilla informs about the type of predation strategy in the evolution of Abelisauridae (Dinosauria: Theropoda)
title_full_unstemmed Morphology of the maxilla informs about the type of predation strategy in the evolution of Abelisauridae (Dinosauria: Theropoda)
title_sort Morphology of the maxilla informs about the type of predation strategy in the evolution of Abelisauridae (Dinosauria: Theropoda)
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Seculi Pereyra, Enzo Emanuel
Vrdoljak, Juan Esteban
Ezcurra, Martin Daniel
González Dionis, Javier
Paschetta, Carolina Andrea
Méndez, Ariel Hernán
author Seculi Pereyra, Enzo Emanuel
author_facet Seculi Pereyra, Enzo Emanuel
Vrdoljak, Juan Esteban
Ezcurra, Martin Daniel
González Dionis, Javier
Paschetta, Carolina Andrea
Méndez, Ariel Hernán
author_role author
author2 Vrdoljak, Juan Esteban
Ezcurra, Martin Daniel
González Dionis, Javier
Paschetta, Carolina Andrea
Méndez, Ariel Hernán
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Abelisauridae
Specialist predation strategy
Late Cretaceous abelisaurids
Phylogenetic Comparative Methods
topic Abelisauridae
Specialist predation strategy
Late Cretaceous abelisaurids
Phylogenetic Comparative Methods
purl_subject.fl_str_mv https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv Abelisauridae is a clade of theropods distinguished by short, ornamented skulls and strongly reduced forelimbs. They represented the most abundant predatory dinosaurs in Gondwana during the Cretaceous. Bolstered by biomechanical studies, the morphology of the skull and vertebral column of abelisaurids, have led researchers to hypothesize that Late Cretaceous forms were “specialized hunters.” Here, we use the morphology of the abelisaurid maxilla to test the inclusion of the Lower Cretaceous Spectrovenator within the specialized hunter category. Additionally, we analyze the diversity and disparity of the abelisaurid maxilla in a macroevolutionary context. We quantified the maxillary shape in 17 taxa using 2D geometric morphometrics and analyzed different evolutionary scenarios and trends with phylogenetic comparative methods. The results of all the analyses (phylogenetic ordination methods, Z, and R2 comparison in phylogenetic generalized least squares, model selection, and estimated taxa-removal analysis) suggest that the hunter specialization appeared during the Early Cretaceous, revealing that Cretaceous abelisaurids can be considered specialist hunters. High levels of morphological disparity in the maxilla occurred shortly after the Cenomanian-Turonian faunistic turnover, which involved drastic changes in the South American terrestrial faunal assemblages. Moreover, the high evolutionary rates of the maxillary shape change in Abelisauridae support a shift in ecological pressures or socio-sexual mechanisms, which were the main drivers of the evolution of the clade rostrum. Our study invites to analyze more osteological elements of the abelisaurid skull under a quantitative macroevolutionary framework to test our results more comprehensively.
Fil: Seculi Pereyra, Enzo Emanuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto Patagónico de Geología y Paleontología; Argentina
Fil: Vrdoljak, Juan Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto Patagónico para el Estudio de los Ecosistemas Continentales; Argentina
Fil: Ezcurra, Martin Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; Argentina
Fil: González Dionis, Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto Patagónico de Geología y Paleontología; Argentina
Fil: Paschetta, Carolina Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto Patagónico de Ciencias Sociales y Humanas; Argentina
Fil: Méndez, Ariel Hernán. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto Patagónico de Geología y Paleontología; Argentina
description Abelisauridae is a clade of theropods distinguished by short, ornamented skulls and strongly reduced forelimbs. They represented the most abundant predatory dinosaurs in Gondwana during the Cretaceous. Bolstered by biomechanical studies, the morphology of the skull and vertebral column of abelisaurids, have led researchers to hypothesize that Late Cretaceous forms were “specialized hunters.” Here, we use the morphology of the abelisaurid maxilla to test the inclusion of the Lower Cretaceous Spectrovenator within the specialized hunter category. Additionally, we analyze the diversity and disparity of the abelisaurid maxilla in a macroevolutionary context. We quantified the maxillary shape in 17 taxa using 2D geometric morphometrics and analyzed different evolutionary scenarios and trends with phylogenetic comparative methods. The results of all the analyses (phylogenetic ordination methods, Z, and R2 comparison in phylogenetic generalized least squares, model selection, and estimated taxa-removal analysis) suggest that the hunter specialization appeared during the Early Cretaceous, revealing that Cretaceous abelisaurids can be considered specialist hunters. High levels of morphological disparity in the maxilla occurred shortly after the Cenomanian-Turonian faunistic turnover, which involved drastic changes in the South American terrestrial faunal assemblages. Moreover, the high evolutionary rates of the maxillary shape change in Abelisauridae support a shift in ecological pressures or socio-sexual mechanisms, which were the main drivers of the evolution of the clade rostrum. Our study invites to analyze more osteological elements of the abelisaurid skull under a quantitative macroevolutionary framework to test our results more comprehensively.
publishDate 2025
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2025-03
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/11336/288378
Seculi Pereyra, Enzo Emanuel; Vrdoljak, Juan Esteban; Ezcurra, Martin Daniel; González Dionis, Javier; Paschetta, Carolina Andrea; et al.; Morphology of the maxilla informs about the type of predation strategy in the evolution of Abelisauridae (Dinosauria: Theropoda); Nature; Scientific Reports; 15; 1; 3-2025; 1-12
2045-2322
CONICET Digital
CONICET
url http://hdl.handle.net/11336/288378
identifier_str_mv Seculi Pereyra, Enzo Emanuel; Vrdoljak, Juan Esteban; Ezcurra, Martin Daniel; González Dionis, Javier; Paschetta, Carolina Andrea; et al.; Morphology of the maxilla informs about the type of predation strategy in the evolution of Abelisauridae (Dinosauria: Theropoda); Nature; Scientific Reports; 15; 1; 3-2025; 1-12
2045-2322
CONICET Digital
CONICET
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
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info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1038/s41598-025-87289-w
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar/
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
application/pdf
application/pdf
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Nature
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Nature
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
reponame_str CONICET Digital (CONICET)
collection CONICET Digital (CONICET)
instname_str Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
repository.name.fl_str_mv CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
repository.mail.fl_str_mv dasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.ar
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