How did Sauropods become the largest herbivores on Earth? The transition between faunivory and herbivore diet in Sauropodomorpha using Finite Element Analysis

Abstract

Among the greatest questions in paleontology there is the evolution of sauropodomorph dinosaurs (Dinosauria, Sauropodomorpha) and how they became the largest herbivores to occupy the Earth. Sauropodomorpha was a diverse and widely distributed group, conquering all continents during the Mesozoic. The Sauropoda subgroup, the popular giant long-necked dinosaurs, became the largest known land-dwelling creatures. The Sauropodomorpha contain carnivorous and omnivorous species among their oldest taxa, however, the Sauropoda have become exclusively herbivorous. This diet transition occurred concurrently with the increase in size and body mass from small and medium-sized carnivorous/omnivorous taxa to large herbivorous taxa (Sauropoda). Despite this emphasis, the topic has been little explored, basing the conclusions on little quantitative data. Studies focused on the evolution of the diet in Sauropodomopha are scarce and do not use innovative quantitative techniques, such as biomechanical investigation techniques. In search of information that can elucidate the evolution of the herbivorous diet of Sauropodomorpha, this project will use a combination of biomechanical techniques (Bite Force modelling and Finite Element Analysis) in skulls and jaws of taxa at various points in their evolution from Sauropodomorpha. These two techniques combined are extreme important in the simulation of biomechanical aspects in fossils, because they obtain reliable answers of the performance of the skulls in silico. This combination of techniques aims to understand for the first time how the evolution of the herbivorous diet in Sauropodomorpha occurred, focusing on the first steps of this transition using as a basis the exceptional fossil record of Southern Brazil Triassic.