Turning Semicircular Canal Function on Its Head: Dinosaurs and a Novel Vestibular Analysis

Justin A Georgi; Justin S Sipla; Catherine A Forster

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0058517

Back

Turning Semicircular Canal Function on Its Head: Dinosaurs and a Novel Vestibular Analysis

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Turning Semicircular Canal Function on Its Head: Dinosaurs and a Novel Vestibular Analysis

Justin A Georgi, Justin S Sipla and Catherine A Forster

PloS one, Vol.8(3), pp.e58517-e58517

03/13/2013

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0058517

PMCID: PMC3596285

PMID: 23516495

Files and links (1)

url

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0058517View

Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

Previous investigations have correlated vestibular function to locomotion in vertebrates by scaling semicircular duct radius of curvature to body mass. However, this method fails to discriminate bipedal from quadrupedal non-avian dinosaurs. Because they exhibit a broad range of relative head sizes, we use dinosaurs to test the hypothesis that semicircular ducts scale more closely with head size. Comparing the area enclosed by each semicircular canal to estimated body mass and to two different measures of head size, skull length and estimated head mass, reveals significant patterns that corroborate a connection between physical parameters of the head and semicircular canal morphology. Head mass more strongly correlates with anterior semicircular canal size than does body mass and statistically separates bipedal from quadrupedal taxa, with bipeds exhibiting relatively larger canals. This morphologic dichotomy likely reflects adaptations of the vestibular system to stability demands associated with terrestrial locomotion on two, versus four, feet. This new method has implications for reinterpreting previous studies and informing future studies on the connection between locomotion type and vestibular function.

Biology

Details

Title: Subtitle: Turning Semicircular Canal Function on Its Head: Dinosaurs and a Novel Vestibular Analysis
Creators: Justin A Georgi
Justin S Sipla
Catherine A Forster
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: PloS one, Vol.8(3), pp.e58517-e58517
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0058517
PMID: 23516495
PMCID: PMC3596285
NLM abbreviation: PLoS One
ISSN: 1932-6203
eISSN: 1932-6203
Publisher: Public Library of Science; San Francisco, USA
Alternative title: Dinosaurs and a Novel Vestibular Analysis
Language: English
Date published: 03/13/2013
Academic Unit: Neurology; Anatomy and Cell Biology
Record Identifier: 9984016339402771

Metrics

24 Record Views

33 Times Cited - Web of Science