Evaluación de la función del cuerno de <i>Ceratosaurus</i> mediante FEA en las XL Jornadas de la SEP

Ceratosaurus es un dinosaurio terópodo del Jurásico Superior que presenta un cuerno nasal único y prominente. Fue descrito inicialmente por O.C. Marsh en 1884 como un "cuerno alto y afilado, que debió haber formado un arma muy poderosa para el ataque y la defensa". Estudios más recientes han propuesto que el cuerno de Ceratosaurus pudo haber sido usado como un elemento de exhibición. Sin embargo, hasta la fecha, ningún estudio ha investigado directamente la función del cuerno nasal de Ceratosaurus. Un estudio que emplea análisis de elementos finitos comparó el cráneo de Ceratosaurus con el de Allosaurus, un terópodo que carece de cuerno nasal, con el objetivo de evaluar la función del cuerno de Ceratosaurus. Ambos terópodos presentan resultados muy similares en los patrones de distribución de stress, lo que sugiere que Ceratosaurus no poseía adaptaciones consistentes relacionadas con un uso del cuerno como arma, siendo más probable que este cumpliera una función de exhibición. Esta investigación fue presentada en las XL Jornadas de la Sociedad Española de Paleontología, y el resumen es el siguiente:

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Ceratosaurus is a Late Jurassic theropod dinosaur that presents a unique and preeminent nasal horn. It was initially described by O.C. Marsh in 1884 as a “high, trenchant horn, which must have formed a most powerful weapon for offense and defense.”. More recent studies have hypothesized that the horn of Ceratosaurus may have been used as a display feature. However, to date, no study has directly investigated the function of the Ceratosaurus nasal horn. A study using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) compared the skull of Ceratosaurus with that of Allosaurus, a theropod lacking a nasal horn, to test the function of the Ceratosaurus horn. Both theropods showed very similar results in their stress distribution patterns, suggesting that Ceratosaurus did not possess any adaptations consistent with a weaponized use of its horn and that it was more likely a display structure. This research was presented at the XL Conference of the Sociedad Española de Paleontología and the abstract is as follows:

Ceratosaurus was a Late Jurassic theropod presenting a prominent and unique nasal horn. The function of the Ceratosaurus’ nasal horn has been initially interpreted as a weaponized structure. More recent studies proposed that it was a display structure. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) has been previously used to investigate the function of horns and crests in the theropods Majungasaurus, Carnotaurus and Sinosaurus. However, FEA has not yet been used to investigate the functional role of Ceratosaurus’ nasal horn. In this study, we developed 2D lateral view models of Ceratosaurus and Allosaurus skulls from scratch in ANSYS based on skull reconstruction from the Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência. Because the horn is transversally poorly developed, we created two models for Ceratosaurus, one with the horn and one without. Alligator cortical bone material properties were applied to the models. The models were constraints at the posterior end of the skull, from the dorsal margin of the squamosal to the ventral end of the quadrate. An arbitrary load of 3000N was applied vertically to the horn of Ceratosaurus. For the Allosaurus and Ceratosaurus without horn models, the load was scaled and applied vertically to the dorsal surface of the nasal, between the anterior margin of the antorbital fenestra and the posterior margin of the naris. All models show similar results, with high stress concentration observed in the postorbital and the cheek region. The comparative analysis suggests that Ceratosaurus’ nasal horn may not have had specific adaptations to absorb or dissipate stress associated with its use as a weaponized structure. Based on these results, the horn of Ceratosaurus is interpreted as a display structure. However, due to the limitations of 2D analyses in capturing complex shapes, such as theropod skulls, future 3D analyses are necessary to test these results.