Pterosaur dietary hypotheses: a review of ideas and approaches

ABSTRACT Pterosaurs are an extinct group of Mesozoic flying reptiles, whose fossil record extends from approximately 210 to 66 million years ago. They were integral components of continental and marginal marine ecosystems, yet their diets remain poorly constrained. Numerous dietary hypotheses have b...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society 2018-11, Vol.93 (4), p.2021-2048
Main Authors: Bestwick, Jordan, Unwin, David M., Butler, Richard J., Henderson, Donald M., Purnell, Mark A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anatomy
Animals
Biodiversity
Biological Evolution
Carnivory
comparative anatomy
consensus
Diet
Diet - veterinary
ecosystem
Equivalence
evidence
Evolution
Feeding Behavior
Fossils
Frugivory
Functional morphology
Herbivory
Hypotheses
interpretations
Marine ecosystems
Mesozoic
Morphology
Original
Phylogeny
pterosaur
qualitative
Qualitative analysis
quantitative
Reptiles
Reptiles - classification
Reptiles - genetics
Reptiles - physiology
Stable isotopes
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Summary:ABSTRACT Pterosaurs are an extinct group of Mesozoic flying reptiles, whose fossil record extends from approximately 210 to 66 million years ago. They were integral components of continental and marginal marine ecosystems, yet their diets remain poorly constrained. Numerous dietary hypotheses have been proposed for different pterosaur groups, including insectivory, piscivory, carnivory, durophagy, herbivory/frugivory, filter‐feeding and generalism. These hypotheses, and subsequent interpretations of pterosaur diet, are supported by qualitative (content fossils, associations, ichnology, comparative anatomy) and/or quantitative (functional morphology, stable isotope analysis) evidence. Pterosaur dietary interpretations are scattered throughout the literature with little attention paid to the supporting evidence. Reaching a robustly supported consensus on pterosaur diets is important for understanding their dietary evolution, and their roles in Mesozoic ecosystems. A comprehensive examination of the pterosaur literature identified 314 dietary interpretations (dietary statement plus supporting evidence) from 126 published studies. Multiple alternative diets have been hypothesised for most principal taxonomic pterosaur groups. Some groups exhibit a high degree of consensus, supported by multiple lines of evidence, while others exhibit less consensus. Qualitative evidence supports 87.3% of dietary interpretations, with comparative anatomy most common (62.1% of total). More speciose groups of pterosaur tend to have a greater range of hypothesised diets. Consideration of dietary interpretations within alternative phylogenetic contexts reveals high levels of consensus between equivalent monofenestratan groups, and lower levels of consensus between equivalent non‐monofenestratan groups. Evaluating the possible non‐biological controls on apparent patterns of dietary diversity reveals that numbers of dietary interpretations through time exhibit no correlation with patterns of publication (number of peer‐reviewed publications through time). 73.8% of dietary interpretations were published in the 21st century. Overall, consensus interpretations of pterosaur diets are better accounted for by non‐biological signals, such as the impact of the respective quality of the fossil record of different pterosaur groups on research levels. That many interpretations are based on qualitative, often untestable lines of evidence adds significant noise to the data. More experiment‐led pt
ISSN:1464-7931
1469-185X
1469-185X
DOI:10.1111/brv.12431