Análisis de la biomecánica pélvica y de las extremidades posteriores de un estiracosterno basal cojo del Cretácico Inferior de Morella en el 85th Annual Meeting de la SVP

Durante el 85º encuentro anual de la Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP), celebradas en la ciudad inglesa de Birmingham, algunos integrantes del Grupo de Biología Evolutiva de la UNED han presentado el trabajo en formato póster titulado “Pelvic and hind limb biomechanics of a limping basal styracosternan from the Lower Cretaceous of the Eastern Iberian Peninsula”. En esta aportación, se han presentado los resultados ligados al estudio de la biomecánica de los elementos pélvicos y apendiculares posteriores de un dinosaurio ornitópodo estiracosterno procedente de los yacimientos de la Formación Arcillas de Morella, el cual presenta una configuración pélvica anómala que habría afectado significativamente a la locomoción habitual. Sin más dilación, os presentamos el resumen del trabajo:

Non-hadrosauroid styracosternans were a clade of large-bodied ornithopod dinosaurs with a long research history, broad geographic distribution and high taxonomic diversity, especially from the Lower Cretaceous of Europe and North America. The most derived representatives of this group show a remarkable record of articulated specimens that facilitate comprehensive musculoskeletal studies. The Arcillas de Morella Formation (Castellón Province, northeastern Spain) has one of the best fossil records of styracosternans in Europe. Among the recovered material, a specimen discovered at Mas de la Parreta Quarry exhibiting multiple pathologies in the axial skeleton is noteworthy for implications for normal gait development. The morphology and proportions of the left ilium of this individual are significantly different, but they are not attributable to taphonomic deformation, as the surrounding pelvic elements exhibit normal morphologies.
To analyze these abnormalities, we created 3D models of the pelvis, right fibula and the first caudal vertebra of this individual using photogrammetry. For the reconstruction of the rest of the hind limb bones, the last dorsal vertebrae and the first caudal were used, along with elements from other individuals found in other sites of the Mas de la Parreta Quarry. We scaled them according to the proportions of the studied individual. The virtual skeleton was assembled in the software Blender and the biomechanic analysis was performed using MuSkeMo, a new open-source Blender add-on. It provides a highly interactive interface to define different aspects of the musculoskeletal reconstruction, calculate inertial properties and apply convex hull-based mass-estimations from the literature. The final dynamic musculoskeletal model was created using previous work on hadrosaurid muscle reconstructions. In addition, published values for Mantellisaurus, Iguanodon and Edmontosaurus and other extant large-sized tetrapods were used to estimate some parameters. The results of this study provide an opportunity to explore the implications of specific pathologies on the locomotion of ornithopod dinosaurs.

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