Growth variability, dimensional scaling, and the interpretation of osteohistological growth data
Osteohistological data are commonly used to study the life history of extant and extinct tetrapods. While recent advances have permitted detailed reconstructions of growth patterns, physiology and other features using these data, they are most commonly used in assessments of ontogenetic stage and re...
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Published in | Biology letters (2005) Vol. 17; no. 11; p. 20210383 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
England
The Royal Society
01.11.2021
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Osteohistological data are commonly used to study the life history of extant and extinct tetrapods. While recent advances have permitted detailed reconstructions of growth patterns, physiology and other features using these data, they are most commonly used in assessments of ontogenetic stage and relative growth in extinct animals. These methods have seen widespread adoption in recent years, rapidly becoming a common component of the taxonomic description of new fossil taxa, but are often applied without close consideration of the sources of variation present or the dimensional scaling relationships that exist among different osteohistological measurements. Here, we use a combination of theoretical models and empirical data from a range of extant and extinct tetrapods to review sources of variability in common osteohistological measurements, their dimensional scaling relationships and the resulting interpretations that can be made from those data. In particular, we provide recommendations on the usage and interpretation of growth mark spacing/zonal thickness data, when these are likely to be unreliable, and under what conditions they can provide useful inferences for studies of growth and life history. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 Electronic supplementary material is available online at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5675594. |
ISSN: | 1744-957X 1744-9561 1744-957X |
DOI: | 10.1098/rsbl.2021.0383 |