Life reconstruction of Heterodontosaurus singing on a Jurassic morning. Credit: Viktor Radermacher.A team of scientists from around the world used high-powered Xrays from the European Synchrotron (ESRF) to demonstrate how the extinct South African dinosaur Heterodontosaurus tucki breathed. The study was published in eLife, 6 July 2021.2016 was a year that scientists from the Evolutionary Studies Institute in Johannesburg, South Africa, visited the European Synchrotron in Grenoble (France), the brightest synchrotron lightsource, to study the complete skeleton of a 200-million-year old plant-eating dinosaur. This dinosaur specimen is the largest ever found of Heterodontosaurus Tuckeri. Study co-author Billy de Klerk, of the Albany Museum in Makhanda, South Africa, discovered the fossil in 2009. De Klerk says that a farmer friend brought the fossil to my attention. "When I saw it, I knew I had something special."Now, fast forward a few years. The team of scientists used scans and a new algorithm created by ESRF scientists in order to virtually reconstruct Heterodontosaurus' skeleton in unprecedented detail and show how the extinct dinosaur breathed. Viktor Radermacher (South African Ph.D., now at the University of Minnesota), states that this specimen is a significant breakthrough in understanding how dinosaurs evolved.Digital Heterodontosaurus South African dinosaur skeleton was created by scanning at the ESRFn, the European Synchrotron, France. It shows complete specimens and new anatomy. Vincent Fernandez (ESRF, NMHN) CreditDifferent animals breathe differently. Humans can expand and contract their lungs. The lungs of birds have air sacs that are located outside the lungs. Paleontologists believed that all dinosaurs could breathe like birds for a long time because they shared similar breathing anatomy. However, this study found that Heterodontosaurus had not only paddle-shaped, but also small, toothpick-like bone, and expanded its chest and belly to allow it to breathe.Heterodontosaurus is one the oldest and most evolved Ornithischians. It's part of the same group that includes favourites like Triceratops and Stegosaurus as well as duckbilled dinosaurs. Heterodontosaurus lived around 200 million years ago in the early Jurassic, and survived an extinctive event at the end the previous Triassic period. Paleontologists could use this information to help them understand how the dinosaur breathed.Richard Butler, from Birmingham's School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UK, says, "We know that the skeletons of the ornithischian dinosaurs were radically different than those of other dinosaurs." He adds, "This incredible fossil helps us understand how ornithischians were successful and distinctive."Heterodontosaurus Tucki AM 4766 is the new specimen affectionately known as "Tucky". Thanks to ESRF scans, digital reconstruction of the anatomy is shown on the right. Credit: Viktor RadermacherThis study is the product of a long-standing collaboration among paleontologists based in South Africa as well as at the ESRF where non-invasive techniques were specifically developed for palaeontological research. Vincent Fernandez, a scientist at the Natural History Museum in London and co-author of this study, says that it was possible only to do the study using a synchrotron. He is also a former scientist at the ESRF. "The ESRF's Xrays and high-energy beamline configuration made it possible to scan this entire turkey-sized dinosaur.This is an excellent example of the diversity and beauty of life on Earth. Radermacher stated that the main message was that there are many methods to breathe. "The really fascinating thing about life on Earth is that each person has a different strategy for doing the same thing. We've just discovered a new way to breathe."Jonah Choiniere (Professor at the Evolutionary Studies Institute University of the Witwatersrand), said that studies like these highlight the importance of South Africa's fossil records in helping us understand the origins of evolution.Continue reading Researchers find the most complete heterodontosaurus skull ever discoveredMore information: Viktor J Radermacher et. al. A new Heterodontosaurus fossil elucidates a unique ventilatory macroevolution among ornithischian dinos. eLife (2021). Viktor J Radermacher and colleagues, A new Heterodontosaurus fossil elucidates how ornithischian dinos evolved their unique ventilatory macroevolution, (2021). DOI: 10.7554/eLife.66036
