Early herbivorous dinosaur evolution and ecomorphology

Ornithischian dinosaurs were the iconic herbivores of the Mesozoic, but their origins remain a palaeontological mystery. With an unexplained explosion of diversity some 200 million years ago immediately after the End-Triassic Mass Extinction, the sudden appearance of Ornithischia heralds the trophic replacement of carnivore-dominated Triassic reptile faunas with more diverse dinosaur communities. Exquisitely preserved ornithischian fossils from the Early Jurassic of southern Africa and the U.S. offer potential insights into this early radiation, but their small size and preservation in dense rock hinders their study. We propose to address this major gap in dinosaur research by synchrotron tomographic scanning of a broad array of early ornithischian skulls. Anatomical and morphometric data from this study will permit us to test phylogenetic and functional hypotheses for the radiation of this important lineage, to dramatically increase knowledge of early Ornithischian neuroanatomy.