Martin Segesdi

Eötvös Loránd University · Department of Palaeontology

Ornithopod dinosaurs evolved numerous craniodental innovations related to herbivory, and precise occlusion was critical for efficient digestion.

Ornithopod dinosaurs evolved numerous craniodental innovations related to herbivory. Nonetheless, the relationship between occlusion, tooth wear rate, and tooth replacement rate has been neglected. Here, we reconstruct tooth wear rates by measuring tooth replacement rates and tooth wear volumes, and document their dental microwear. We demonstrate t...

Aquatic birds represent diverse ecologies and locomotion types. Some became flightless or lost the ability for effective terrestrial locomotion, yet, certain species excel in water, on land, and in air, despite differing physical characteristics associated with each medium. In this exploratory study, we intend to quantitatively analyze the morpholo...

Thousands of coprolites have been collected from the Upper Miocene (Tortonian/Pannonian) sands of the Pécs-Danitzpuszta sand pit, one of the most important mixed Neogene vertebrate localities in Hungary. Although, the locality has been known for centuries, the coprolites have not been investigated in detail. We describe these fossils and explore th...

The woodpecker family (Picidae) includes numerous species that vary in size and plumage colouration, but which share many easily recognisable external features. These birds possess pronounced anatomical adaptions that enable them to exploit arboreal habitats and live in niches that are inaccessible to most other birds. The aim of this study was to...

Secondarily aquatic birds encompass diverse ecologies and locomotion types, which are associated with distinct anatomical adaptations. Those taxa that are most adapted to water have lost their ability to fly and, in some cases, their ability for an effective terrestrial locomotion; conversely, there are species that are excellent swimmers or divers...

Dentitions of the sympatric herbivorous dinosaurs Hungarosaurus (Ankylosauria, Nodosauridae) and Mochlodon (Ornithopoda, Rhabdodontidae) (Santonian, Hungary) were analysed to investigate their dietary ecology, using several complementary methods—orientation patch count, tooth replacement rate, macrowear, tooth wear rate, traditional microwear, and...

Adaptation to an aquatic lifestyle occurred in the evolution of several primarily terrestrial clades of tetrapods. Among these lineages, aquatic birds’ adaptations differ in many ways from other secondarily aquatic vertebrates. As a consequence of the evolution of flight, birds with swimming and diving abilities represent unique locomotion skills a...

Sauropterygia was a diverse clade of secondary aquatic reptiles, which represented one of the most important vertebrate groups in the shallow marine communities during the Triassic. However, despite the long history of collection and examination of sauropterygian remains, previous studies have indicated that the fossil record of this group is incom...

More than 2600 coprolites produced by vertebrates have been found in the fluvial lacustrine beds of the Upper Cretaceous (Santonian) Csehbánya Formation, Iharkút, western Hungary. In this study the mineral components, embedded dietary residues of these coprolites were examined and their ecological significance are discussed. The coprolite assemblag...