Evolution of hind limb morphology of Titanosauriformes (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) analyzed via 3D geometric morphometrics reveals wide-gauge posture as an exaptation for gigantism
The sauropod hind limb was the main support that allowed their gigantic body masses and a wide range of dynamic stability adaptations. It was closely related to the position of the center of masses of their multi-ton barrel-shaped bodies and experienced one of the most noticeable posture changes dur...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2025-08-01
|
| Series: | eLife |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/92498 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849404972607733760 |
|---|---|
| author | Adrián Páramo Pedro Mocho Fernando Escaso Francisco Ortega |
| author_facet | Adrián Páramo Pedro Mocho Fernando Escaso Francisco Ortega |
| author_sort | Adrián Páramo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The sauropod hind limb was the main support that allowed their gigantic body masses and a wide range of dynamic stability adaptations. It was closely related to the position of the center of masses of their multi-ton barrel-shaped bodies and experienced one of the most noticeable posture changes during macronarian evolution. Deeply branched macronarians achieved increasingly arched hind limbs in what is known as wide-gauge posture. However, it is not clear if this evolutionary trend is related to the evolutionary cascade toward gigantism even though some titanosaurians were the largest terrestrial vertebrates that ever existed. We tested evolutionary changes in hind limb morphology in the Macronaria phylogenetic tree by 3D geometric morphometrics. The macronarian hind limb does become progressively more arched toward deeply branched groups, specifically Saltasauridae. However, there is morphological convergence between different macronarian subclades. Wide-gauge posture does not correlate with changes in body size deeper in the macronarian evolutionary tree and acted as an exaptation to gigantism. Despite some titanosaurian subclades becoming some of the largest vertebrates, there is not a statistically significant trend toward a particular body size, but we identify a phyletic body size decrease in Macronaria. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-22ee2269f70c4b1da2933588dededd4c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj-art-22ee2269f70c4b1da2933588dededd4c2025-08-20T03:36:48ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2025-08-011310.7554/eLife.92498Evolution of hind limb morphology of Titanosauriformes (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) analyzed via 3D geometric morphometrics reveals wide-gauge posture as an exaptation for gigantismAdrián Páramo0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7746-5493Pedro Mocho1Fernando Escaso2Francisco Ortega3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7431-354XScientific Computation Research Institute (SCRIUR), Universidad de La Rioja, Logroño, Spain; Centro de Interpretación Paleontológica de La Rioja, La Rioja, Spain; Grupo de Biología Evolutiva (GBE), Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Las Rozas, SpainGrupo de Biología Evolutiva (GBE), Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Las Rozas, Spain; Instituto Dom Luiz, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, PortugalGrupo de Biología Evolutiva (GBE), Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Las Rozas, SpainGrupo de Biología Evolutiva (GBE), Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Las Rozas, SpainThe sauropod hind limb was the main support that allowed their gigantic body masses and a wide range of dynamic stability adaptations. It was closely related to the position of the center of masses of their multi-ton barrel-shaped bodies and experienced one of the most noticeable posture changes during macronarian evolution. Deeply branched macronarians achieved increasingly arched hind limbs in what is known as wide-gauge posture. However, it is not clear if this evolutionary trend is related to the evolutionary cascade toward gigantism even though some titanosaurians were the largest terrestrial vertebrates that ever existed. We tested evolutionary changes in hind limb morphology in the Macronaria phylogenetic tree by 3D geometric morphometrics. The macronarian hind limb does become progressively more arched toward deeply branched groups, specifically Saltasauridae. However, there is morphological convergence between different macronarian subclades. Wide-gauge posture does not correlate with changes in body size deeper in the macronarian evolutionary tree and acted as an exaptation to gigantism. Despite some titanosaurian subclades becoming some of the largest vertebrates, there is not a statistically significant trend toward a particular body size, but we identify a phyletic body size decrease in Macronaria.https://elifesciences.org/articles/92498dinosauriasauropodaTitanosauriformes |
| spellingShingle | Adrián Páramo Pedro Mocho Fernando Escaso Francisco Ortega Evolution of hind limb morphology of Titanosauriformes (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) analyzed via 3D geometric morphometrics reveals wide-gauge posture as an exaptation for gigantism eLife dinosauria sauropoda Titanosauriformes |
| title | Evolution of hind limb morphology of Titanosauriformes (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) analyzed via 3D geometric morphometrics reveals wide-gauge posture as an exaptation for gigantism |
| title_full | Evolution of hind limb morphology of Titanosauriformes (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) analyzed via 3D geometric morphometrics reveals wide-gauge posture as an exaptation for gigantism |
| title_fullStr | Evolution of hind limb morphology of Titanosauriformes (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) analyzed via 3D geometric morphometrics reveals wide-gauge posture as an exaptation for gigantism |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evolution of hind limb morphology of Titanosauriformes (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) analyzed via 3D geometric morphometrics reveals wide-gauge posture as an exaptation for gigantism |
| title_short | Evolution of hind limb morphology of Titanosauriformes (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) analyzed via 3D geometric morphometrics reveals wide-gauge posture as an exaptation for gigantism |
| title_sort | evolution of hind limb morphology of titanosauriformes dinosauria sauropoda analyzed via 3d geometric morphometrics reveals wide gauge posture as an exaptation for gigantism |
| topic | dinosauria sauropoda Titanosauriformes |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/92498 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT adrianparamo evolutionofhindlimbmorphologyoftitanosauriformesdinosauriasauropodaanalyzedvia3dgeometricmorphometricsrevealswidegaugepostureasanexaptationforgigantism AT pedromocho evolutionofhindlimbmorphologyoftitanosauriformesdinosauriasauropodaanalyzedvia3dgeometricmorphometricsrevealswidegaugepostureasanexaptationforgigantism AT fernandoescaso evolutionofhindlimbmorphologyoftitanosauriformesdinosauriasauropodaanalyzedvia3dgeometricmorphometricsrevealswidegaugepostureasanexaptationforgigantism AT franciscoortega evolutionofhindlimbmorphologyoftitanosauriformesdinosauriasauropodaanalyzedvia3dgeometricmorphometricsrevealswidegaugepostureasanexaptationforgigantism |