Rothschild Bruce M, Naples Virginia
West Virginia University College of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Morgantown, West Virginia United States of America.
Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2017 Nov 2;12(11):e0187064. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0187064. eCollection 2017.
Two separate and distinctive skills are necessary to find prey: Detection of its presence and determination of its location. Surface microscopy of the dentary of albertosaurines revealed a previously undescribed sensory modification, as will be described here. While dentary "foramina" were previously thought to contain tactile sensory organs, the potential function of this theropod modification as a unique localizing system is explored in this study.
Dentary surface perforations were examined by surface epi-illumination microscopy in tyrannosaurine and albertosaurine dinosaurs to characterize their anatomy. Fish lateral lines were examined as potentially comparable structures.
In contrast to the subsurface vascular bifurcation noted in tyrannosaurines (which lack a lateral dentary surface groove), the area subjacent to the apertures in albertosaurine grooves has the appearance of an expanded chamber. That appearance seemed to be indistinguishable from the lateral line of fish.
Dentary groove apertures in certain tyrannosaurid lines (specifically albertosaurines) not only have a unique appearance, but one with significant functional and behavior implications. The appearance of the perforations in the dentary groove of albertosaurines mirrors that previously noted only with specialized neurologic structures accommodating derived sensory functions, as seen in the lateral line of fish. The possibility that this specialized morphology could also represent a unique function in albertosaurine theropods for interacting with the environment or facilitating prey acquisition cannot be ignored. It is suggested that these expanded chambers function in perceiving and aligning the body relative to the direction of wind, perhaps a Cretaceous analogue of the contemporary midwestern weathervane.
发现猎物需要两种不同且独特的技能：察觉猎物的存在并确定其位置。阿尔伯脱龙类恐龙齿骨的表面显微镜检查揭示了一种此前未被描述的感觉器官变化，如下文所述。虽然齿骨“小孔”此前被认为含有触觉感觉器官，但本研究探讨了这种兽脚亚目恐龙的变化作为一种独特定位系统的潜在功能。
通过表面落射光显微镜检查暴龙类和阿尔伯脱龙类恐龙的齿骨表面穿孔，以描述其解剖结构。将鱼类侧线作为可能具有可比性的结构进行检查。
与暴龙类（其齿骨侧面缺乏凹槽）中观察到的皮下血管分支不同，阿尔伯脱龙类凹槽中小孔下方的区域呈现出一个扩大的腔室外观。这种外观似乎与鱼类的侧线难以区分。
某些暴龙科恐龙（特别是阿尔伯脱龙类）的齿骨凹槽小孔不仅具有独特的外观，而且具有重要的功能和行为意义。阿尔伯脱龙类齿骨凹槽中的穿孔外观与之前仅在具有衍生感觉功能的特殊神经结构中观察到的相似，如鱼类的侧线。这种特殊形态在阿尔伯脱龙类兽脚亚目恐龙中也可能代表与环境相互作用或促进猎物捕获的独特功能，这一可能性不容忽视。有人认为，这些扩大的腔室在感知身体相对于风向的方向并使其对齐方面发挥作用，也许类似于现代中西部风向标在白垩纪的对应物。
