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Using airflow patterns to aid inferences of nasal soft‐tissue reconstructions in dinosaurs
Author(s) -
Bourke Jason,
Porter Ruger,
Ridgely Ryan,
Witmer Lawrence
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.29.1_supplement.83.3
Subject(s) - extant taxon , airflow , anatomy , biology , nasal cavity , nasal passages , soft tissue , airway , paleontology , nose , evolutionary biology , pathology , medicine , surgery , engineering , mechanical engineering
The varied nasal passages of dinosaurs suggest perhaps multiple important functions. Reconstructing nasal soft tissues is challenging given that they rarely preserve in fossils. However, the nasal soft‐tissue conformations of the extant relatives of dinosaurs provide key insights. We used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to simulate air movement and test the effects of internal nasal shape on airflow within the nasal passages of representative birds, crocodylians, and lizards. Results revealed an extensive thermoregulatory capacity for each nasal passage along with repeated airway constrictions and baffling via the mucocartilaginous conchae and nasal walls. We incorporated these results into 3D reconstructions of ankylosaur, pachycephalosaur, sauropod, and theropod dinosaurs. CFD analyses of these dinosaur nasal passages, in comparison to extant taxa, uncovered regions of the nasal cavity that likely contained soft tissues (e.g., conchae). Incorporating these soft tissues resulted in airflow patterns more consistent with those of extant amniotes (e.g., substantial olfactory flow). These CFD‐based reconstructions offer new insight into dinosaur nasal physiology. Heat‐transfer potential, coupled with fossil data on blood distribution, indicates that dinosaur noses were capable air conditioners that may have played an integral role in maintaining brain thermal homeostasis.