@article{TEXTUAL,
      recid = {8040},
      author = {Wimberly, Alexa N.},
      title = {Predicting body mass in Ruminantia using postcranial  measurements},
      journal = {Journal of Morphology},
      address = {2023-09-14},
      number = {TEXTUAL},
      abstract = {Size plays an important role in mammalian ecology.  Accurate prediction of body mass is therefore critical for  inferring aspects of ecology in extinct mammals. The unique  digestive physiology of extant ruminant artiodactyls, in  particular, is suggested to place constraints on their body  mass depending on the type of food resources available.  Therefore, reliable body mass estimates could provide  insight into the habitat preferences of extinct ruminants.  While most regression equations proposed thus far have used  craniodental predictors, which for ungulates may produce  misleading estimates based on indirect relationships  between tooth dimensions and size, postcranial bones  support the body and may be more accurate predictors of  body mass. Here, I use phylogenetically informed bivariate  and multiple regression techniques to establish predictive  equations for body mass in 101 species of extant ruminant  artiodactyls based on 56 postcranial measurements. Within  limb elements, stepwise multiple regression models were  typically preferred, though bivariate models often received  comparable support based on Akaike's information criterion  scores. The globally preferred model for predicting mass is  a model including both proximal and distal width of the  humerus, though several models from the radioulna received  comparable support. In general, widths of long bones were  good predictors, while lengths and midshaft circumferences  were not. Finally, I show that where the best elements for  prediction are unavailable for fossil taxa, selection of  the model with lowest percent prediction error for the  lowest level clade to which the fossil can be assigned  could be a productive and novel way forward for predicting  mass and subsequently aspects of ecology in fossil  mammals.},
      url = {http://knowledge.uchicago.edu/record/8040},
}