Quantifying the effect of gape and morphology on bite force: biomechanical modelling and <i>in vivo</i> measurements in bats

Santana, Sharlene E.

doi:10.1111/1365-2435.12522

Cited by 56 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 69 publications

(182 reference statements)

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“…Researchers have revealed that skull shapes can also be influenced by skull strain energy, maximum gape, skull strength, all of which can be tied to different dietary ecologies (i.e. Slater & Van Valkenburgh, ; Tseng, ; Santana, ; Figueirido et al ., ). In addition to feeding, the cranium houses multiple structures essential for other functions such as olfaction, vision, auditory and brain processing.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…This pattern, termed cranial evolutionary allometry (CREA), has been uncovered in African antelopes, squirrels, fruit bats, mongooses, felids and kangaroos (Cardini & Polly, ; Cardini et al ., ; Tamagnini et al ., ). A more elongate rostrum enables a wider gape and faster jaw closure during prey capture that tends to result in a decrease in relative bite force (Preuschoft & Witzel, ; Santana, ). Our results in musteloids, however, show that relative rostrum length does not increase with increases in cranial size and therefore does not follow CREA.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of diet on cranial morphology and biting ability in musteloid mammals

Law

Duran

Hung

et al. 2018

J of Evolutionary Biology

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Size and shape are often considered important variables that lead to variation in performance. In studies of feeding, size‐corrected metrics of the skull are often used as proxies of biting performance; however, few studies have examined the relationship between cranial shape in its entirety and estimated bite force across species and how dietary ecologies may affect these variables differently. Here, we used geometric morphometric and phylogenetic comparative approaches to examine relationships between cranial morphology and estimated bite force in the carnivoran clade Musteloidea. We found a strong relationship between cranial size and estimated bite force but did not find a significant relationship between cranial shape and size‐corrected estimated bite force. Many‐to‐one mapping of form to function may explain this pattern because a variety of evolutionary shape changes rather than a single shape change may have contributed to an increase in relative biting ability. We also found that dietary ecologies influenced cranial shape evolution but did not influence cranial size nor size‐corrected bite force evolution. Although musteloids with different diets exhibit variation in cranial shapes, they have similar estimated bite forces suggesting that other feeding performance metrics and potentially nonfeeding traits are also important contributors to cranial evolution. We postulate that axial and appendicular adaptations and the interesting feeding behaviours reported for species within this group also facilitate different dietary ecologies between species. Future work integrating cranial, axial and appendicular form and function with behavioural observations will reveal further insights into the evolution of dietary ecologies and other ecological variables.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of diet on cranial morphology and biting ability in musteloid mammals

Law

Duran

Hung

et al. 2018

J of Evolutionary Biology

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“…This is illustrated by the relatively lower coronoid process in the mandible, which would cause stretching and lower contractile forces in the temporalis muscle at extreme gapes [35,81,82]. When compared rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org Proc.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Go big or go fish: morphological specializations in carnivorous bats

2016

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Specialized carnivory is relatively uncommon across mammals, and bats constitute one of the few groups in which this diet has evolved multiple times. While size and morphological adaptations for carnivory have been identified in other taxa, it is unclear what phenotypic traits characterize the relatively recent evolution of carnivory in bats. To address this gap, we apply geometric morphometric and phylogenetic comparative analyses to elucidate which characters are associated with ecological divergence of carnivorous bats from insectivorous ancestors, and if there is morphological convergence among independent origins of carnivory within bats, and with other carnivorous mammals. We find that carnivorous bats are larger and converged to occupy a subset of the insectivorous morphospace, characterized by skull shapes that enhance bite force at relatively wide gapes. Piscivorous bats are morphologically distinct, with cranial shapes that enable high bite force at narrow gapes, which is necessary for processing fish prey. All animal-eating species exhibit positive allometry in rostrum elongation with respect to skull size, which could allow larger bats to take relatively larger prey. The skull shapes of carnivorous bats share similarities with generalized carnivorans, but tend to be more suited for increased bite force production at the expense of gape, when compared with specialized carnivorans.

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“…The mammalian jaw is frequently treated as a lever for the purposes of biomechanical analysis (e.g., Crompton, 1963; Bramble, 1978; Greaves, 1978; Greaves, 1982; Greaves, 2000; Gingerich, 1979; Thomason, 1991; Satoh, 1998; Satoh, 1999; Spencer, 1998; Spencer, 1999; Satoh & Iwaku, 2006; Satoh & Iwaku, 2009; Davis et al, 2010; Druzinsky, 2010; Cornette et al, 2012; Becerra, Casinos & Vassallo, 2013; Santana, 2015). More specifically, it is frequently considered to be a third-class lever i.e., one in which the input force sits between the fulcrum and the output force (Kerr, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The jaw is a second-class lever inPedetes capensis(Rodentia: Pedetidae)

Cox

2017

PeerJ

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The mammalian jaw is often modelled as a third-class lever for the purposes of biomechanical analyses, owing to the position of the resultant muscle force between the jaw joint and the teeth. However, it has been proposed that in some rodents the jaws operate as a second-class lever during distal molar bites, owing to the rostral position of the masticatory musculature. In particular, the infraorbital portion of the zygomatico-mandibularis (IOZM) has been suggested to be of major importance in converting the masticatory system from a third-class to a second-class lever. The presence of the IOZM is diagnostic of the hystricomorph rodents, and is particularly well-developed in Pedetes capensis, the South African springhare. In this study, finite element analysis (FEA) was used to assess the lever mechanics of the springhare masticatory system, and to determine the function of the IOZM. An FE model of the skull of P. capensis was constructed and loaded with all masticatory muscles, and then solved for biting at each tooth in turn. Further load cases were created in which each masticatory muscle was removed in turn. The analyses showed that the mechanical advantage of the springhare jaws was above one at all molar bites and very close to one during the premolar bite. Removing the IOZM or masseter caused a drop in mechanical advantage at all bites, but affected strain patterns and cranial deformation very little. Removing the ZM had only a small effect on mechanical advantage, but produced a substantial reduction in strain and deformation across the skull. It was concluded that the masticatory system of P. capensis acts as a second class lever during bites along almost the entire cheek tooth row. The IOZM is clearly a major contributor to this effect, but the masseter also has a part to play. The benefit of the IOZM is that it adds force without substantially contributing to strain or deformation of the skull. This may help explain why the hystricomorphous morphology has evolved multiple times independently within Rodentia.

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Quantifying the effect of gape and morphology on bite force: biomechanical modelling and in vivo measurements in bats

Cited by 56 publications

References 69 publications

Effects of diet on cranial morphology and biting ability in musteloid mammals

Effects of diet on cranial morphology and biting ability in musteloid mammals

Go big or go fish: morphological specializations in carnivorous bats

The jaw is a second-class lever inPedetes capensis(Rodentia: Pedetidae)

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