Data from: Divergent feeding biomechanics in Late Cretaceous marine reptiles from the Western Interior Seaway

Sympatry of numerous predatory marine reptiles appears to be the rule
rather than the exception in many Mesozoic formations, implying that these
lineages likely evolved some form of ecological partitioning. Many studies
have focused on dental morphology as a proxy for the feeding habits of
aquatic tetrapods, but much more ecological insight may be gained through
simulations of the mechanical performance of craniomandibular elements.
Here, we conducted the first, large-scale, comparative study of marine
reptile jaw biomechanics, applying muscle-driven finite element analyses
(FEA) on a dataset of high-resolution three-dimensional models. Our
study-system included mosasaurids and polycotylid plesiosaurians from the
Santonian-Maastrichtian of the Western Interior Seaway (WIS), a vast
inland sea that stretched longitudinally across North America during the
Late Cretaceous. Muscle insertions were identified to reconstruct jaw
adductor muscles and simulate respective muscle and bite forces. We
simulated realistic muscle traction dynamics during biting, including
simulations at multiple opening angles and bite locations. We recover
clearly distinct biomechanical performances among the sample, notably
between the slender-snouted mosasaurids (e.g. Clidastes) plus
polycotylids, and the robust-jawed mosasaurids (e.g. Prognathodon). By
integrating jaw size, mechanical efficiency, and internal energy, we
provide strong support for differential biting mechanics among these
marine predators, which doubtless influenced their ecological role. Our
results offer deeper insight into feeding ecologies in Late Cretaceous
marine reptiles and provide a unified protocol to assess the role of
feeding biomechanics in niche partitioning among sympatric marine reptiles
from well-sampled regions.