Documentation of Hadrosaurid Humeri from the Liscomb Bonebed, North Slope, Alaska Prior to Histological Sectioning

• Main Author: Galvin, Makenna
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Misericordia Digital Commons 2024
• Subjects: fossil documentation; Hadrosaurid Humeri; Biology; Life Sciences; north slope; Alaska
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.misericordia.edu/research_posters2024/13; https://digitalcommons.misericordia.edu/context/research_posters2024/article/1031/viewcontent/Galvinm_v001_20240427.pdf

Proper documentation of research specimens is a crucial component that must be completed prior to histological sectioning. Since specimens are unique and irreplaceable, documentation provides information that may later be unobtainable after sectioning, due to the inherent nature of the technique having to permanently alter the specimen. The hadrosaurid dinosaur, the Edmontosaurus, has an abundant fossil record, which can be partly attributed to being gregarious, and therefore preserves multiple monodominant bonebeds and several dozen associated skeletons across North America. This makes Edmontosaurus an ideal taxon to use for life history studies. However, previous Edmontosaurus bonebeds have only preserved specimens of size classes that were two years of age or older (Wosik et al., 2020; Wosik & Evans, 2022). The Liscomb Bonebed from the Prince Creek Formation of the North Slope of Alaska provides a potential avenue to help complete this early ontogenetic gap. This bonebed preserves individuals that align with the hypothesized yearling size class (Wosik et al., 2020; Wosik & Evans, 2022), and provide a rare opportunity to study the early ontogeny of Edmontosaurus. The aim of this project is to record the specimens chosen for histological sectioning. After documentation, these specimens will undergo histological sectioning to analyze their bone microstructure. This analysis aims to yield individual age data for each specimen, contributing to testing the hypothesis of the Liscomb Bonebed preserving yearling-aged individuals. Photogrammetry is suitable for effectively recreating fossil specimens in a 3-dimensional form. This is an ideal documentation method, displaying multiple characterics of the original specimens https://digitalcommons.misericordia.edu/research_posters2024/1031/thumbnail.jpg