DOI: 10.5061/dryad.99qj3
title: Data from: Using striated tooth marks on bone to predict body size in theropod dinosaurs: a model based on feeding observations of Varanus komodoensis, the Komodo monitor

description: Mesozoic tooth marks on bone surfaces directly link consumers to fossil
 assemblage formation. Striated tooth marks are believed to form by
 theropod denticle contact, and attempts have been made to identify
 theropod consumers by comparing these striations with denticle widths of
 contemporaneous taxa. The purpose of this study is to test whether
 ziphodont theropod consumer characteristics may be accurately identified
 from striated tooth marks on fossil surfaces. There are three major
 objectives; 1) experimentally produce striated tooth marks and explain how
 they form; 2) determine whether body size characteristics are reflected in
 denticle widths; 3) determine whether denticle characters are accurately
 transcribed onto bone surfaces in the form of striated tooth marks.
 Controlled feeding trials were conducted with the dental analogue Varanus
 komodoensis (the Komodo monitor). Goat (Capra hircus) carcasses were
 introduced to captive, isolated individuals. Striated tooth marks were
 then identified, and striation width, number, and degree of divergence
 were recorded for each. Denticle widths and tooth/body size characters
 were taken from photographs and published accounts of both theropod and V.
 komodoensis skeletal material, and regressions were compared among and
 between the two groups. Striated marks tend to be regularly striated with
 a variable degree of branching, and may co-occur with scores. Striation
 morphology directly reflects contact between the mesial carina and bone
 surfaces during the rostral reorientation when defleshing. Denticle width
 is primarily influenced by tooth size, and correlates well with body size
 displaying negative allometry in both groups regardless of taxon or
 position. When compared, striation widths fall within or below the range
 of denticle widths extrapolated for similar sized V. komodoensis
 individuals. Striation width is directly influenced by the orientation of
 the carina during feeding, and may underestimate but cannot overestimate
 denticle width. Although body size may theoretically be estimated solely
 by a striated tooth mark under ideal circumstances, many caveats should be
 considered. These include the influence of negative allometry across taxa
 and throughout ontogeny, the existence of theropods with extreme denticle
 widths, and the potential for striations to underestimate denticle widths.
 This method may be useful under specific circumstances, especially for
 establishing a lower limit body size for potential consumers.
description: Table
 S1Crown morphometrics for
 Varanus komodoensis dry skull specimensSupplimental
 1.pdfTable
 S2Skull and body
 measurements for ziphodont specimens of Varanus komodoensis and
 theropods.Supplimental
 2.pdfTable
 S3Dental crown
 morphometrics for theropod fossil specimensSupplimental
 3.pdfTable
 S4A
 listing of all Varanus komodoensis striated tooth marks
 collected.Supplimental
 4.pdfTable
 S5Analysis of covariance
 (ANCOVA) output for regressionsSupplimental
 5.pdf