Fine structure of bone in dinosaurs, birds and mammals

Citation
Jm. Rensberger et M. Watabe, Fine structure of bone in dinosaurs, birds and mammals, NATURE, 406(6796), 2000, pp. 619-622
Citations number
30
Categorie Soggetti
Multidisciplinary,Multidisciplinary,Multidisciplinary
Journal title
NATURE
ISSN journal
00280836 → ACNP
Volume
406
Issue
6796
Year of publication
2000
Pages
619 - 622
Database
ISI
SICI code
0028-0836(20000810)406:6796<619:FSOBID>2.0.ZU;2-1
Abstract
After observation of detailed structural evidence for the origin of birds f rom dinosaurs(1), and in light of evidence that dinosaur bone tissue resemb les the histology in mammals(2), the histology of bone has become one of th e focal points in discussions of the physiology of dinosaurs and Mesozoic b irds(3-10). Most of this microstructural information has focused on feature s related to the vascular organization and the amount of remodelled bone ar ound vascular canals. However, the finer structures have received less atte ntion, although differences in such structures have been observed among mod ern vertebrates(10,11). Here we present evidence that canaliculi-the submic rometre-sized channels that interconnect bone cells and vascular canals-and the collagen fibre bundles in bone are differently organized among certain dinosaur lineages. Ornithomimid dinosaurs(12) are more like birds than mam mals in these features. In canalicular structure, and to some extent in fib re bundle arrangement, ornithischian dinosaurs are more like mammals. These differences in both canalicular and lamellar structure are probably linked to differences in the process and rate(13) of bone formation.