Digital preparation and osteology of the skull of Lesothosaurus diagnosticus (Ornithischia: Dinosauria)

• Published in: PeerJ (San Francisco, CA) Vol. 3; p. e1494
• Main Authors: Porro, Laura B, Witmer, Lawrence M, Barrett, Paul M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States PeerJ. Ltd 21-12-2015; PeerJ, Inc; PeerJ Inc
• Subjects: Anatomy; Anatomy and Physiology; Animal behavior; Birds; Computational Biology; Computed tomography; Cranium; Dinosauria; Dinosaurs; Evolution; Heterodontosaurus; Jurassic period; Lesothosaurus; Lower jaw; Mandible; Morphology; Ornithischia; Paleontology; Pisanosaurus; Skull; Taxonomy; Technology application; Theropoda; Visualization; Visualization (Computer); South Africa; Lesotho; Argentina; Dinosaurs; Lower jaw; Cranium; Visualization; Computed tomography; Anatomy
• ISSN: 2167-8359; 2167-8359
• DOI: 10.7717/peerj.1494

Several skulls of the ornithischian dinosaur Lesothosaurus diagnosticus (Lower Jurassic, southern Africa) are known, but all are either incomplete, deformed, or incompletely prepared. This has hampered attempts to provide a comprehensive description of skull osteology in this crucial early dinosaurian taxon. Using visualization software, computed tomographic scans of the Lesothosaurus syntypes were digitally segmented to remove matrix, and identify and separate individual cranial and mandibular bones, revealing new anatomical details such as sutural morphology and the presence of several previously undescribed elements. Together with visual inspection of exposed skull bones, these CT data enable a complete description of skull anatomy in this taxon. Comparisons with our new data suggest that two specimens previously identified as Lesothosaurus sp. (MNHN LES 17 and MNHN LES 18) probably represent additional individuals of Lesothosaurus diagnosticus.