Data from: Disparate feeding mechanics between two hadrosaurid dinosaurs support the potential for resource partitioning

The Dinosaur Park Formation (DPF) of western Canada is well known for its
diverse fossil assemblage, preserving over a dozen species of large-bodied
herbivorous dinosaurs. The high density of large herbivores has raised
questions of how these animals were able to coexist and limit competition,
leading to several studies investigating the potential for resource
partitioning. In the DPF, hadrosaurids are of particular ecological
significance because of their abundance, diversity, and complex feeding
system. Here, we used 3D muscle reconstructions and finite element
analysis to evaluate the mechanical performance of the cranium and lower
jaws of the lambeosaurine Corythosaurus casuarius and the contemporaneous
hadrosaurine Gryposaurus notabilis to test for the potential of resource
partitioning. We found G. notabilis had larger adductor muscles than
similarly sized C. casuarius, but the latter had greater mechanical
efficiency, resulting in similar bite forces for similarly sized animals.
The cranium of C. casuarius is more resistant to bending than G.
notabilis, and exhibits a derived stress distribution likely associated
with the supracranial crest. Resource partitioning between these taxa
would have been primarily size-mediated, where larger G. notabilis would
have been able to processes tougher plant material than smaller C.
casuarius at equivalent ontogenetic stages.