Feeding habits of the Middle Triassic pseudosuchian Batrachotomus kupferzellensis from Germany and palaeoecological implications for archosaurs
Mujal, Eudald (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)
Foth, Christian (University of Fribourg. Department of Geosciences)
Maxwell, Erin (Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart)
Seegis, Dieter (Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart)
Schoch, Rainer (Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart)

Date:	2022
Abstract:	Bite traces on fossil bones are key to deciphering feeding ecology and trophic interactions of vertebrate past ecosystems. However, similarities between traces produced by different carnivorous taxa with similar dentitions, and misidentifications due to equifinality, hinder confident identifications of the bite makers. Here, we correlate bite traces with macroscopic wear and microanatomy of the teeth of the pseudosuchian archosaur Batrachotomus kupferzellensis from the Triassic Lower Keuper fossil lagerstätten (southern Germany), untangling its feeding habits and shedding light on the bite traces generated by ziphodont teeth (teeth with serrated carinae). Individually, bite traces reflect tooth morphology, whereas composite bite traces and their frequency are related to feeding behaviour and explain tooth macroscopic wear and microanatomy. Therefore the identification of the bite maker is possible by analysing composite bite traces, their location on bones, and their relative abundance. In addition, tooth macroscopic wear and microanatomy are proven as independent lines of evidence of feeding ecology. Comparing bite traces on fossil and present-day bone assemblages, we observe that bone modifications by the crocodylomorph lineage (from Triassic pseudosuchian archosaurs to extinct and extant crocodylians) are strikingly similar, including taxa with and without ziphodont teeth. Such a set of features differs from bone modification assemblages produced by taxa with similar ziphodont teeth outside the pseudosuchian lineage, such as theropod dinosaurs and the Komodo monitor, suggesting phylogeny is a better predictor of feeding ecology among saurian reptiles than tooth morphology.
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Bite traces ('bite marks') ; Ziphodont teeth ; Tooth macrowear ; Tooth histology ; Archosaur ; Lower Keuper
Published in:	Palaeontology, Vol. 65, Issue 3 (May 2022) , art. e12597, ISSN 1475-4983

DOI: 10.1111/pala.12597

31 p, 7.0 MB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles