Sexual Dimorphism in the Postcranial Skeleton of Dinosaurs

Sex-related variability in the tetrapod skeleton has regular patterns that reflect the different ontogenetic pathways leading to the formation of adult sexual features. In dinosaurs (as well as amniotes in general), these features are most pronounced in the morphology of postcranial bones. In males,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Paleontological journal 2020-12, Vol.54 (12), p.1410-1433
Main Author: Tereshchenko, V. S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation
Bones
Dinosaurs
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Females
Gender aspects
Hatching
Locomotion
Males
Morphology
Ontogeny
Ova
Paleontology
Pelvis
Sex
Sex differences
Sexual dimorphism
Skeleton
Variability
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Summary:Sex-related variability in the tetrapod skeleton has regular patterns that reflect the different ontogenetic pathways leading to the formation of adult sexual features. In dinosaurs (as well as amniotes in general), these features are most pronounced in the morphology of postcranial bones. In males, sex-related traits reflect improved adaptations of the locomotor apparatus, while in females they are associated with the adaptation to hatching and laying eggs. Therefore, beyond the specifics of sex differences in different taxa of dinosaurs, there are also common patterns: in all adult males, neural spines are higher and limb bones are more robust than in females, while the volume of the abdominal cavity and the width of the pelvis are greater in females. The case study of ceratopsians (Ornithischia: Neoceratopsia) shows that knowledge of basic sex-related characters (those most constant in tetrapods) facilitates the search for accessory characters (more taxon-specific) that are correlated with basic ones, which provide a way to establish the limits of sexual variability typical for a given taxon.
ISSN:0031-0301
1555-6174
DOI:10.1134/S0031030120120047