In contrast to the vast majority of reptiles, the skulls of adult crown birds are characterized by a high degree of integration due to bone fusion, e.g., an ontogenetic event generating a net reduction in the number of bones. To understand this proce...
Finite element analysis (FEA), a biomechanical simulation technique capable of providing direct mechanical visualization for CT-based digital models, has been extensively applied to fossil image datasets to address key evolutionary questions in paleo...