360 million-year-old tetrapods may have been more like modern crocodiles than previously thought, according to 3D skull reconstruction. The results publish March 11, 2015 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Laura Porro from University of Bristol, UK, and colleagues.
Acanthostega gunnari was a 'four-footed' vertebrate, also known as a tetrapod, that invaded land during one of the great evolutionary transitions in Earth's history, 380-360 million years ago. This species is crucial for understanding the anatomy and ecology of the earliest tetrapods; however, after hundreds of millions of years buried in the ground, fossils are often damaged and deformed. To try to reconstruct the skull of this species from numerous skull pieces, the authors of the study applied high-resolution X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanning to several specimens of Acanthostega gunnari from East Greenland.
Researchers found that the reconstructed skull had a longer postorbital region and a more strongly hooked lower jaw than previously thought. They also found clues as to how the species fed. The size and distribution of its teeth and the shape of contacts between individual bones of the skull (called sutures) suggest Acanthostega may have initially seized prey at the front of its jaws using its large front teeth and hook-shaped lower jaw.
The researchers plan to apply these methods to other flattened fossils of the earliest tetrapods to better understand how modifications to these early animals' bones and teeth helped them meet the challenges of living on land.
Dr. Laura Porro added, "Because early tetrapods skulls are often 'pancaked' during the fossilization process, these animals are usually reconstructed having very flat heads. Our new reconstruction suggests the skull of Acanthostega was taller and somewhat narrower than previously interpreted, more similar to the skull of a modern crocodile."
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In your coverage please use this URL to provide access to the freely available paper: http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0118882
Citation: Porro LB, Rayfield EJ, Clack JA (2015) Descriptive Anatomy and Three-Dimensional Reconstruction of the Skull of the Early Tetrapod Acanthostega gunnari Jarvik, 1952. PLoS ONE 10(3): e0118882. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0118882
Funding: This work is funded by a Marie Curie International Incoming Research Fellowship ( "Tetrapods Rising", 303161 ) to LBP. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
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