How to translate text using browser tools
23 January 2024 Orbit Size and Estimated Eye Size in Dinosaurs and Other Archosaurs and Their Implications for the Evolution of Visual Capabilities
Stephan Lautenschlager, Rune F. Aston, Jessica L. Baron, John R. Boyd, Harold W. L. Bridger, Victor E. T. Carmona, Thomas Ducrey, Olive Eccles, Morgan Gall, Spencer A. Jones, Henry Laker-Mchugh, Daniel J. Lawrenson, Kyle J. Mascarenhas, Emma Mcschnutz, Joshua D. Quinn, Thomas E. Robson, Pierre W. Stöhr, Edwin J. Strahl, Ryan R. Tokeley, Fraser Weston, Klara J. Wallace, Tom Whitehouse, Charlotte M. Bird, Emma M. Dunne
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Vision is one of the most important senses for animals, allowing them to interact with their environment and with further implications for evolutionary histories. However, relevant soft tissues, such as the eye and associated structures, are not preserved in fossil vertebrates, limiting our knowledge of their visual capabilities. Here, we quantified absolute and relative orbit size for 400 species of dinosaurs and other extinct archosaurs using linear measurements of the preserved skeletal elements as a proxy for visual capabilities. Our results demonstrate that the orbit makes up on average 20% of skull size with a strong and consistent correlation across all sampled groups. This trend is largely independent of temporal distribution, species richness, and phylogeny. In fact, relative orbit size is narrowly constrained and did not surpass 45% of skull size, suggesting physiological and functional controls. Estimated eye size was found to be absolutely larger in herbivores, whereas carnivores tended to have smaller eyes absolutely and compared with skull size. Relatively large eyes only occurred in small-bodied species and vice versa. However, eye size alone was not sufficient to discriminate between different activity patterns or to characterize visual capabilities in detail.

Stephan Lautenschlager, Rune F. Aston, Jessica L. Baron, John R. Boyd, Harold W. L. Bridger, Victor E. T. Carmona, Thomas Ducrey, Olive Eccles, Morgan Gall, Spencer A. Jones, Henry Laker-Mchugh, Daniel J. Lawrenson, Kyle J. Mascarenhas, Emma Mcschnutz, Joshua D. Quinn, Thomas E. Robson, Pierre W. Stöhr, Edwin J. Strahl, Ryan R. Tokeley, Fraser Weston, Klara J. Wallace, Tom Whitehouse, Charlotte M. Bird, and Emma M. Dunne "Orbit Size and Estimated Eye Size in Dinosaurs and Other Archosaurs and Their Implications for the Evolution of Visual Capabilities," Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 43(3), (23 January 2024). https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2023.2295518
Received: 6 July 2023; Accepted: 11 December 2023; Published: 23 January 2024
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top