Nostril Position in Dinosaurs and Other Vertebrates and Its Significance for Nasal Function

doi:10.1126/science.1062681

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Nostril Position in Dinosaurs and Other Vertebrates and Its Significance for Nasal Function

Lawrence M. Witmer

Many dinosaurs have enormous and complicated bony nasal apertures. Functional interpretation requires knowledge of the locationof the external opening in the skin. Traditionally, the fleshynostril of dinosaurs has been placed in the back of the bony opening,but studies of extant dinosaur relatives suggest that it is locatedfar forward. Narial blood supply and cavernous tissue corroboratethe rostral position in dinosaurs. A rostral nostril was, andremains, a virtually invariant rule of construction among Amniota,which has consequences for (i) nasal airstreaming, and hence variousphysiological parameters, and (ii) the collection of behaviorallyrelevant circumoral odorants.

Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA.
E-mail: witmer{at}exchange.oucom.ohiou.edu

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NEWS OF THE WEEK PALEONTOLOGY: Dinosaur Nostrils Get a Hole New Look: Erik Stokstad (3 August 2001)
Science 293 (5531), 779a. [DOI: 10.1126/science.293.5531.779a]
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