FEEDING ECOLOGY OF THE DEEP-BODIED FISH DAPEDIUM (ACTINOPTERYGII, NEOPTERYGII) FROM THE SINEMURIAN OF DORSET, ENGLAND

作者：Smithwick Fiann M^*

来源：Palaeontology, 2015, 58(2): 293-311.

DOI：10.1111/pala.12145

• functional analysis
• jaw mechanics
• ecomorphology
• durophagy
• mechanical advantage
• Early Jurassic

Reconstructing the feeding ecology of fossil fishes can be difficult, but new mechanical approaches enable reasonably reliable inferences by comparison with living forms. Here, the feeding ecology of one of the most iconic and abundant actinopterygians of the Early Jurassic, Dapedium, is explored through detailed anatomical study and functional analyses of jaw mechanics. Mathematical models derived from modern teleost functional morphology are applied, to ascertain the transmission of force through the jaws of Dapedium. A number of features not previously identified in the genus are described, and the dentition isdescribed in full for the first time. The analysis of the functional morphology of Dapedium, in combination with its jaw anatomy and dentition, indicates that the genus was well adapted to a durophagous feeding habit, although indirect evidence suggests a more generalist feeding mode. Being a generalist durophage may explain the success of the genus in the aftermath of the end-Triassic extinction event and its radiation in the Early Jurassic, as indicated bythe ubiquity of Dapedium fossils throughout the LowerLias.

• 出版日期2015-3