Computational reconstruction of the giant rhinoceros Paraceratherium

Supervisors: Professor John Hutchinson (JHutchinson@rvc.ac.uk ), Dr Peter Falkingham Liverpool John Moores University (P.L.Falkingham@ljmu.ac.uk)

Although extant rhinoceroses can reach body masses in excess of 3000 kg and still gallop or jump, there were even larger extinct relatives, most famously Paraceratherium, in past geological epochs. How athletic were these giant species? This question primarily depends on quantifying how giant they were, in terms of body mass. Estimates based on equations relating individual bone dimensions to body mass have predicted a body mass of 15-20 tonnes in these giant rhinoceroses, but these equations have notorious sources of error. We seek a student to collaborate with us on obtaining 3D images of the skeletal elements of Paraceratherium and using these to digitally reconstruct its fleshed-out body volume for comparison with prior estimates of body mass, and for novel computational estimates of centre of mass, inertia and other parameters relevant to how it biomechanically supported its huge weight. We predict that prior estimates of the body mass of Paraceratherium will be supported, but that biomechanical estimates of the stresses on its limb bones will indicate that it was less able to sustain high locomotor forces during locomotion than living rhinoceroses.

References:

1. Allen, V.A., Bates, K.T., Li, Z., Hutchinson, J.R. 2013. Linking the evolution of body shape and locomotor biomechanics in bird-line archosaurs. Nature 497:104–107.

2. Bates, K. T., Falkingham, P. L., Macaulay, S., Brassey, C., & Maidment, S. C. 2015.

3. Downsizing a giant: re-evaluating Dreadnoughtus body mass. Biology Letters 11(6):20150215. Prothero, D. 2013. Rhinoceros Giants: The Paleobiology of Indricotheres. Indiana University Press.

If you would like to apply for this studentship please contact the supervisors in the first instance and then apply via UKPASS. See also the How to Apply box

The deadline for applications is 3rd April 2016