Data from: Feeding ecology of the deep-bodied fish Dapedium (Actinopterygii, Neopterygii) from the Sinemurian of Dorset, England

Reconstructing the feeding ecology of fossil fishes can be difficult, but new mechanical approaches enable reasonably reliable inferences by comparison with living forms. Here, the feeding ecology of one of the most iconic and abundant actinopterygians of the Early Jurassic, Dapedium, is explored through detailed anatomical study and functional analyses of jaw mechanics. Mathematical models derived from modern teleost functional morphology are applied, to ascertain the transmission of force through the jaws of Dapedium. A number of features not previously identified in the genus are described, and the dentition is described in full for the first time. The analysis of the functional morphology of Dapedium, in combination with its jaw anatomy and dentition, indicates that the genus was well adapted to a durophagous feeding habit, although indirect evidence suggests a more generalist feeding mode. Being a generalist durophage may explain the success of the genus in the aftermath of the end-Triassic extinction event and its radiation in the Early Jurassic, as indicated by the ubiquity of Dapedium fossils throughout the Lower Lias.

还原化石鱼类的摄食生态历来颇具挑战，但借助新兴力学研究手段，通过与现生类群比对，可获得可信度较高的推断结果。本研究聚焦早侏罗世最具标志性且最为繁盛的辐鳍鱼纲（Actinopterygii）类群之一的达佩德鱼（Dapedium），通过细致的解剖学研究与颌骨力学功能分析，探究其摄食生态。研究采用基于现生真骨鱼类（Teleostei）功能形态学构建的数学模型，以探明达佩德鱼颌骨的力传导路径。本研究记述了该属此前未被识别的多项特征，并首次完整披露了其齿列结构。结合颌骨解剖结构与齿列特征开展的达佩德鱼功能形态学分析显示，该属高度适配硬食性摄食习性，但间接证据表明其可能具备更为宽泛的泛食性摄食模式。作为泛食性硬食者，这一特征或可解释该属在三叠纪末灭绝事件（end-Triassic extinction event）后得以繁盛，并在早侏罗世实现辐射演化的原因——这一点可由下里阿斯统（Lower Lias）地层中广泛分布的达佩德鱼化石所印证。