Myological reconstruction of the pelvic girdle of Anhanguera piscator (Pterosauria: Pterodactyloidea) using three-dimensional virtual animation

Abstract

Despite muscular reconstructions of fossil vertebrates that have been performed for many years, sites of origin and attachment of muscles are rarely visible because their preservation on bones relies upon favorable circumstances. Limited attempts at reconstructing the pelvic muscles of pterosaurs have been made, but there is no report in the literature concerning a full detailed description of the pelvic girdle musculature of these fl ying reptiles. Thus, the aim of this study is to perform the reconstruction of the pelvis and hind limb myology in Anhanguera piscator Kellner & Tomida using the Extant Phylogenetic Bracket Method and advanced three-dimensional computer graphics, a methodological approach that has not yet been used for this purpose. Each muscle from the dorsal and ventral groups was individually reconstructed and outlined in the osteological model as lines whose ends represent their sites of origin and attachment in the bone. The authors used the Extant Phylogenetic Bracket Method to study these muscles in a more detailed way considering their divisions, such as Mm. iliotibiales 1-3, M. iliofemoralis externus/M. iliotrochantericus caudalis, and Mm. fl exores tibiales internus 1-4.