Fred Ruhe
Well-known member
Armita R. Manafzadeh, Stephen M. Gatesy 4 & Bhart-Anjan S. Bhullar, 2024
Articular surface interactions distinguish dinosaurian locomotor joint poses
Nature Communications. 15 (1).
doi:10.1038/s41467-024-44832-z
Absract and free pdf: Articular surface interactions distinguish dinosaurian locomotor joint poses - Nature Communications
Our knowledge of vertebrate functional evolution depends on inferences
about joint function in extinct taxa. Without rigorous criteria for evaluating
joint articulation, however, such analyses risk misleading reconstructions of
vertebrate animal motion. Here we propose an approach for synthesizing
raycast-based measurements of 3-D articular overlap, symmetry, and con-
gruence into a quantitative “articulation score” for any non-interpenetrating
six-degree-of-freedom joint configuration. We apply our methodology to
bicondylar hindlimb joints of two extant dinosaurs (guineafowl, emu) and,
through comparison with in vivo kinematics, find that locomotor joint poses
consistently have high articulation scores. We then exploit this relationship
to constrain reconstruction of a pedal walking stride cycle for the extinct
dinosaur Deinonychus antirrhopus, demonstrating the utility of our approach.
As joint articulation is investigated in more living animals, the framework we
establish here can be expanded to accommodate additional joints and clades,
facilitating improved understanding of vertebrate animal motion and its
evolution.
Enjoy.
Fred
Articular surface interactions distinguish dinosaurian locomotor joint poses
Nature Communications. 15 (1).
doi:10.1038/s41467-024-44832-z
Absract and free pdf: Articular surface interactions distinguish dinosaurian locomotor joint poses - Nature Communications
Our knowledge of vertebrate functional evolution depends on inferences
about joint function in extinct taxa. Without rigorous criteria for evaluating
joint articulation, however, such analyses risk misleading reconstructions of
vertebrate animal motion. Here we propose an approach for synthesizing
raycast-based measurements of 3-D articular overlap, symmetry, and con-
gruence into a quantitative “articulation score” for any non-interpenetrating
six-degree-of-freedom joint configuration. We apply our methodology to
bicondylar hindlimb joints of two extant dinosaurs (guineafowl, emu) and,
through comparison with in vivo kinematics, find that locomotor joint poses
consistently have high articulation scores. We then exploit this relationship
to constrain reconstruction of a pedal walking stride cycle for the extinct
dinosaur Deinonychus antirrhopus, demonstrating the utility of our approach.
As joint articulation is investigated in more living animals, the framework we
establish here can be expanded to accommodate additional joints and clades,
facilitating improved understanding of vertebrate animal motion and its
evolution.
Enjoy.
Fred
