Speaker
Dr
Kimberley Etienne Justin Chapelle
(Evolutionary Studies Institute and School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa)
Description
Understanding the palaeobiodiversity of the Early Jurassic of South Africa relies on researchers’ ability to correctly identify the various fossil taxa from that time. Complicating factors such as ontogeny, sexual dimorphism, and taphonomic deformation often hinder these taxonomic identifications. Micro Computed Tomography (CT) allows for an unprecedented level of detail when studying fossils and therefore more insight into the factors explaining observed morphological disparities. Here, a basal sauropodomorph specimen (BP/1/4779) previously referred to Massospondylus carinatus was CT-scanned and compared to a small ontogenetic series of M. carinatus specimens in order to rule out developmental effects as a reason for the morphological differences observed. Using digital retrodeformation of the reconstructed scans, we assessed if the shapes of the overall skull of BP/1/4779 and of the individual cranial bones can be deformed to resemble that of M. carinatus, therefore excluding taphonomic deformation as an explanation. On the basis of this CT-based investigation, we can confidently reassign BP/1/4779 to a new genus.
Primary author
Dr
Kimberley Etienne Justin Chapelle
(Evolutionary Studies Institute and School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa)
Co-authors
Dr
Jennifer Botha
(Department of Karoo Palaeontology, National Museum, Bloemfontein, South Africa)
Prof.
Jonah Nathaniel Choiniere
(Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa)
Prof.
Paul Michael Barrett
(Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom)
Stephan Lautenschlager
(School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom)
