Kristina Curry Rogers and Gregory M. Erickson
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520246232
- eISBN:
- 9780520932333
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520246232.003.0012
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
This chapter addresses the sauropod growth rates from the perspectives of bone histology, long bone growth, and developmental mass. It provides an overview of the evidence from living and fossil ...
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This chapter addresses the sauropod growth rates from the perspectives of bone histology, long bone growth, and developmental mass. It provides an overview of the evidence from living and fossil vertebrate taxa relevant to qualitative interpretations of sauropod bone tissue. A case study for Apatosaurus that incorporates all methods discussed in the text is then reported. Bone histology offers an exceptional tool for studying bone growth in dinosaurs at the microscopic level. The growth rates of dinosaurs depended on the size of the taxon of interest: the larger the dinosaur, the more rapid the overall body growth rate. Amprino's Rule suggests that laminar tissue in sauropods grew at the same basic range of rates that occurs in extant mammals and birds. Application of developmental mass extrapolation (DME) and longevity estimates provide quantified measures of growth rates for all stages of whole-body growth, including the exponential stage.Less
This chapter addresses the sauropod growth rates from the perspectives of bone histology, long bone growth, and developmental mass. It provides an overview of the evidence from living and fossil vertebrate taxa relevant to qualitative interpretations of sauropod bone tissue. A case study for Apatosaurus that incorporates all methods discussed in the text is then reported. Bone histology offers an exceptional tool for studying bone growth in dinosaurs at the microscopic level. The growth rates of dinosaurs depended on the size of the taxon of interest: the larger the dinosaur, the more rapid the overall body growth rate. Amprino's Rule suggests that laminar tissue in sauropods grew at the same basic range of rates that occurs in extant mammals and birds. Application of developmental mass extrapolation (DME) and longevity estimates provide quantified measures of growth rates for all stages of whole-body growth, including the exponential stage.
Padian Kevin, Boef Miara Maria de, Larsson Hans C.E., Wilson Laura, and Bromage Timothy
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780520273528
- eISBN:
- 9780520955110
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520273528.003.0010
- Subject:
- Biology, Paleontology
This chapter addresses some of the questions and issues associated with the “four signals” of bone histology, with the aim of actuating further research. It discusses how knowledge in ...
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This chapter addresses some of the questions and issues associated with the “four signals” of bone histology, with the aim of actuating further research. It discusses how knowledge in skeletochronology, linear and mass growth rates, and timing of the reproductive maturity of extinct tetrapods can be applied to life-history reconstructions.Less
This chapter addresses some of the questions and issues associated with the “four signals” of bone histology, with the aim of actuating further research. It discusses how knowledge in skeletochronology, linear and mass growth rates, and timing of the reproductive maturity of extinct tetrapods can be applied to life-history reconstructions.
Lee Andrew H., Huttenlocker Adam K., Padian Kevin, and Woodward Holly N.
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780520273528
- eISBN:
- 9780520955110
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520273528.003.0008
- Subject:
- Biology, Paleontology
This chapter discusses the advantages and disadvantages of various types of growth measurements including mass, length, time, and osteohistological texture. It explains the intensity of measurement, ...
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This chapter discusses the advantages and disadvantages of various types of growth measurements including mass, length, time, and osteohistological texture. It explains the intensity of measurement, and how sampling intensity can limit the types of questions addressed by growth data but can also clarify longstanding misconceptions such as “indeterminate” growth. The chapter reviews the mathematical description of growth data using models, as well as how a single model is selected from a set of plausible models, and provides examples using growth models and bone histology to show that analyses of relative growth can be equally informative as analyses of absolute growth. It concludes with recommendations for the standardization of paleobiological growth analyses.Less
This chapter discusses the advantages and disadvantages of various types of growth measurements including mass, length, time, and osteohistological texture. It explains the intensity of measurement, and how sampling intensity can limit the types of questions addressed by growth data but can also clarify longstanding misconceptions such as “indeterminate” growth. The chapter reviews the mathematical description of growth data using models, as well as how a single model is selected from a set of plausible models, and provides examples using growth models and bone histology to show that analyses of relative growth can be equally informative as analyses of absolute growth. It concludes with recommendations for the standardization of paleobiological growth analyses.
Kevin Padian and Ellen-Therese Lamm (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780520273528
- eISBN:
- 9780520955110
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520273528.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Paleontology
The microscopic examination of fossilized bone tissue is a sophisticated and increasingly important analytical tool for understanding the life history of ancient organisms. This book provides an ...
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The microscopic examination of fossilized bone tissue is a sophisticated and increasingly important analytical tool for understanding the life history of ancient organisms. This book provides an essential primer and manual for using fossil bone histology to investigate the biology of extinct tetrapods. Twelve experts summarize advances in the field over the past three decades, reviewing fundamental basics of bone microanatomy and physiology. Research specimen selection, thin-section preparation, and data analysis are addressed in detail. The authors also outline methods and issues in bone growth rate calculation and chronological age determination, as well as examining broader questions of behavior, ecology, and evolution by studying the microstructure of bone.Less
The microscopic examination of fossilized bone tissue is a sophisticated and increasingly important analytical tool for understanding the life history of ancient organisms. This book provides an essential primer and manual for using fossil bone histology to investigate the biology of extinct tetrapods. Twelve experts summarize advances in the field over the past three decades, reviewing fundamental basics of bone microanatomy and physiology. Research specimen selection, thin-section preparation, and data analysis are addressed in detail. The authors also outline methods and issues in bone growth rate calculation and chronological age determination, as well as examining broader questions of behavior, ecology, and evolution by studying the microstructure of bone.
Padian Kevin
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780520273528
- eISBN:
- 9780520955110
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520273528.003.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Paleontology
This chapter discusses the “four signals” of bone histology: ontogeny, phylogeny, mechanics, and environment. These “signals” help us to make sense of the kinds of variation seen in the bone tissues ...
More
This chapter discusses the “four signals” of bone histology: ontogeny, phylogeny, mechanics, and environment. These “signals” help us to make sense of the kinds of variation seen in the bone tissues of extinct tetrapods. They have been shown empirically to be reliable guides to the interpretation of the most basic question in the paleohistology of bone: Why is this tissue formed the way it is, and why does it differ from the tissue of this other animal? Along with some calibration methods based on teeth in many mammalian groups, bone histology forms the basis of skeletochronology, the only currently available universal line of evidence that provides an absolute age on the skeletons of extinct vertebrates.Less
This chapter discusses the “four signals” of bone histology: ontogeny, phylogeny, mechanics, and environment. These “signals” help us to make sense of the kinds of variation seen in the bone tissues of extinct tetrapods. They have been shown empirically to be reliable guides to the interpretation of the most basic question in the paleohistology of bone: Why is this tissue formed the way it is, and why does it differ from the tissue of this other animal? Along with some calibration methods based on teeth in many mammalian groups, bone histology forms the basis of skeletochronology, the only currently available universal line of evidence that provides an absolute age on the skeletons of extinct vertebrates.
