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Functional relationship between skull form and feeding mechanics in Sphenodon, and implications for diapsid skull development

There is a long-standing debate over whether skulls are optimised for physiological forces or over-designed through evolution and development. In this pioneering work we simulated multiple, complex, physiological loads acting on a finite element skull model of a reptile Sphenodon. The results showed that if all load regimes are considered, then most bone in the skull will experience a physiologically reasonable level of strain, demonstrating for the first time that skulls are optimised for the routine loads that they experience, at least in Sphenodon. This has significant implications for our understanding of skull function and future studies of skull biomechanics.