Electronic Supplementary Information from Morphometric assessment of pterosaur jaw disparity

Additional data and table

Procrustes aligned landmarks coordinates from Morphometric assessment of pterosaur jaw disparity

Procrustes aligned landmarks coordinates for all 46 tax

A new pterosaur from the Middle Jurassic of Skye, Scotland and the early diversification of flying reptiles

The Middle Jurassic was a critical time in pterosaur evolution, witnessing the appearance of major morphological innovations that underpinned successive radiations by rhamphorhynchids, basally branching monofenestratans, and pterodactyloids. Frustratingly, this interval is particularly sparsely sampled, with a record consisting almost exclusively of isolated fragmentary remains. Here, we describe new material from the Bathonian-aged Kilmaluag Formation of Skye, Scotland, which helps close this gap. Ceoptera evansae (gen. et sp. nov.) is based on a three-dimensionally preserved partial skeleton, which represents one of the only associated Middle Jurassic pterosaurs. Ceoptera is among the first pterosaurs to be fully digitally prepared, and µCT scanning reveals multiple elements of the skeleton that remain fully embedded within the matrix and otherwise inaccessible. It is diagnosed by unique features of the pectoral and pelvic girdle. The inclusion of this new Middle Jurassic pterosaur in a novel phylogenetic analysis of pterosaur interrelationships provides additional support for the existence of the controversial clade Darwinoptera, adding to our knowledge of pterosaur diversity and evolution.</p

Exploring the Relationship between Skeletal Mass and Total Body Mass in Birds

<div><p>Total body mass (TBM) is known to be related to a number of different osteological features in vertebrates, including limb element measurements and total skeletal mass. The relationship between skeletal mass and TBM in birds has been suggested as a way of estimating the latter in cases where only the skeleton is known (e.g., fossils). This relationship has thus also been applied to other extinct vertebrates, including the non-avian pterosaurs, while other studies have used additional skeletal correlates found in modern birds to estimate TBM. However, most previous studies have used TBM compiled from the literature rather than from direct measurements, producing values from population averages rather than from individuals. Here, we report a new dataset of 487 extant birds encompassing 79 species that have skeletal mass and TBM recorded at the time of collection or preparation. We combine both historical and new data for analyses with phylogenetic control and find a similar and well-correlated relationship between skeletal mass and TBM. Thus, we confirm that TBM and skeletal mass are accurate proxies for estimating one another. We also look at other factors that may have an effect on avian body mass, including sex, ontogenetic stage, and flight mode. While data are well-correlated in all cases, phylogeny is a major control on TBM in birds strongly suggesting that this relationship is not appropriate for estimating the total mass of taxa outside of crown birds, Neornithes (e.g., non-avian dinosaurs, pterosaurs). Data also reveal large variability in both bird skeletal and TBM within single species; caution should thus be applied when using published mass to test direct correlations with skeletal mass and bone lengths.</p></div

Sexual variation between total body mass vs. skeletal mass relationships in birds.

<p>Red = female, blue = male, black solid line represents the total relationship for the entire dataset, while coloured solid lines represent the association for each sex, dashed lines represent standard errors.</p

Linear scale association between total body mass and skeletal mass in birds.

<p>Plotted on a linear scale using (a) the data published by Prange et al. [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0141794#pone.0141794.ref007" target="_blank">7</a>] and (b) the pooled dataset (RBCM + Prange et al. [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0141794#pone.0141794.ref007" target="_blank">7</a>]). Black line represents the association estimated by Prange et al. [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0141794#pone.0141794.ref007" target="_blank">7</a>], red line represents the association estimated here, dashed lines represent standard errors.</p