Dinosaur growth

Dinosaur growth describes how individuals changed in size and anatomy as they aged. Fossil bones preserve evidence of growth rates, maturity, and variation within species.

Bone histology: The study of microscopic bone structure, including features that record growth and remodeling. Thin sections of fossil bones preserve growth marks and tissue patterns.
Ontogeny: The development of an individual organism from its earliest stage through maturity. Dinosaur growth is one part of the broader sequence of individual development.
Dinosaur paleontology: The scientific study of dinosaurs through fossils, geological context, and comparative anatomy. Growth research draws on dinosaur fossils to reconstruct their biology.
Mammal growth: The age-related increase in body size and changes in anatomy among mammals. Comparisons expose differences between dinosaur bone growth patterns and those of living mammals.
Lines of arrested growth: Periodic bands in bone tissue that record pauses or slowdowns in growth. Counting these marks can estimate age, though not always one mark per year.
Allometry: The study of how body proportions change with body size or developmental stage. Changing proportions help distinguish juvenile dinosaur anatomy from adult anatomy.
Dinosaur ontogenetic series: A set of fossils interpreted as successive growth stages of one dinosaur species. Comparing stages can reveal how anatomy changed from juvenile to adult.
Bird growth: The developmental increase in size and anatomical change in birds, the living dinosaur lineage. Birds offer living comparisons, but their growth patterns do not represent all extinct dinosaurs.
Osteohistology: The microscopic study of bone tissue in fossil and living vertebrates. Its methods distinguish rapidly formed tissue from slower, remodeled bone.
Epiphyseal fusion: The joining of growth-region bones to the main shaft as a skeleton matures. Fusion patterns provide an independent clue to skeletal age.

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