Skull morphology and functionality of extant Felidae (Mammalia: Carnivora): a phylogenetic and evolutionary perspective

Sicuro, Fernando Lencastre; Oliveira, Luiz Flamarion B.

doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2010.00636.x

Cited by 554 publications

(86 citation statements)

References 84 publications

(121 reference statements)

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“…Thus, besides testing the validity of the 'rule' (or the lack of it) in another taxonomic group, assessing CREA in felids is particularly interesting as the lineage, with its fairly homogeneous head morphology, may have evolved under a strong pressure to keep the face short and thus maintain a biomechanical advantage in delivering powerful bites to hold and kill their preys. This pressure could have limited the putative propensity of larger species to have relatively longer faces, because in fact larger species (defined as those bigger than 21.5 kg, sensu Carbone et al 1999) often take proportionally bigger preys (Sicuro & Oliveira 2011), and may therefore need even more robust skulls (Slater & Van Valkenburgh 2009).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Neofelis is less well known than most other pantherines and certainly atypical for being the living felid with proportionally longest canines, as well as for other cranial features, including an elongated and relatively narrow skull (Werdelin 1983;Sicuro 2011;Sicuro & Oliveira 2011). …”

Section: Are Pantherinae Different or Is It Just Neofelis To Be Unusual?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite being fairly diverse as a mammalian family, as well as disparate in terms of body size, their morphology is rather conserved (see introductory paragraphs of Sicuro & Oliveira 2011, and references therein).…”

Section: Valkenburgh 2009)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The aspect of the head is almost unmistakable, with short and wide faces allowing strong bites to hold and kill preys (Nowak 2005;Sicuro & Oliveira 2011;Meachen-Samuels & Van Valkenburgh 2009). However, even in closely related species, large differences in size are typically accompanied by differences in shape, because of allometry, or the covariation of size and shape (Klingenberg 2016).…”

Section: Valkenburgh 2009)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Anyone with a Long-Face? Craniofacial Evolutionary Allometry (CREA) in a Family of Short-Faced Mammals, the Felidae

2017

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Anyone with a Long-Face? Craniofacial Evolutionary Allometry (CREA) in a Family of Short-Faced Mammals, the Felidae http://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/6790/ Article LJMU has developed LJMU Research Online for users to access the research output of the University more effectively. Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Users may download and/or print one copy of any article(s) in LJMU Research Online to facilitate their private study or for non-commercial research. You may not engage in further distribution of the material or use it for any profit-making activities or any commercial gain.The version presented here may differ from the published version or from the version of the record. Please see the repository URL above for details on accessing the published version and note that access may require a subscription. Abstract: Among adults of closely related species, a trend in craniofacial evolutionary allometry (CREA) for larger taxa to be long-faced and smaller ones to have paedomorphic aspects, such as proportionally smaller snouts and larger braincases, has been demonstrated in some mammals and two bird lineages. Nevertheless, whether this may represent a 'rule' with few exceptions is still an open question. In this context, Felidae is a particularly interesting family to study because, although its members are short-faced, previous research did suggest relative facial elongation in larger living representatives. Using geometric morphometrics, based on two sets of anatomical landmarks, and traditional morphometrics, for comparing relative lengths of the palate and basicranium, we performed a series of standard and comparative allometric regressions in the Felidae and its two subfamilies. All analyses consistently supported the CREA pattern, with only one minor exception in the geometric morphometric analysis of Pantherinae: the genus Neofelis. With its unusually long canines, Neofelis species seem to have a relatively narrow cranium and long face, despite being smaller than other big cats. In spite of this, overall, our findings strengthen the possibility that the CREA pattern might indeed be a 'rule' among mammals, raising questions on the processes behind it and suggesting future directions for its study. smaller than other big cats. In spite of this, overall, our findings strengthen the possibility that the CREA pattern might indeed be a 'rule' among mammals, raising questions on the processes behind it and suggesting future directions for its study. Powered by Edit orial Manager® and ProduXion Manager® from Aries Syst em s Corporat ion Running Head: Cranial allometry 'RULE' in Felidae

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Are Pantherinae Different or Is It Just Neofelis To Be Unusual?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Valkenburgh 2009)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Valkenburgh 2009)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Anyone with a Long-Face? Craniofacial Evolutionary Allometry (CREA) in a Family of Short-Faced Mammals, the Felidae

2017

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“…Felid species show different morphological adaptations correlated with the size of prey taken (Meachen-Samuels and Van Valkenburgh 2009a, b;Sicuro and Oliveira 2011). Species that specialize in larger prey are distinguished by having a larger skull, more robust canines, a wider mouth, and a larger opening angle of the mouth.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A morphological comparison of jaguars and pumas in southern Mexico

Torre

Rivero

2017

Therya

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Jaguars (Panthera onca) and pumas (Puma concolor) are sympatric throughout the entire range of the jaguar. Pumas are smaller in areas where they are sympatric with jaguars and their body size is larger outside the distribution range of jaguars. This pattern has been explained as an effect that natural selection has promoted through character displacement to partially avoid competition. We examined and compared the body and craniodental measurements of sympatric jaguars and pumas from a tropical rainforest in southern Mexico. Data on body sizes were obtained from jaguars and pumas captured with foot snares. We implemented a principal component analysis (PCA) to evaluate variability in sizes between species and sexes and to characterize groups of individuals according to these morphological variables. Finally, we compared morphological variables using analyses of variance (ANOVAs) and pairwise comparisons using the Bonferroni adjustment. Body size and mass of female jaguars were similar to male pumas in southern Mexico. But, canines and mouth breadth were larger in female jaguars than in male pumas. In general, male jaguars were larger than male pumas and female jaguars were larger than female pumas, throughout the distribution of the jaguar. However, female jaguars and male pumas may have similar body mass and size in much of their sympatric distribution. Our results suggest that character displacement between jaguars and pumas might be expressed not only by their body size, but also by their skull size, the length and robustness of canines, and the mouth breadth, and these morphological differences allow for resource partitioning and the coexistence of these two species that have very similar ecological requirements.Jaguares (Panthera onca) y pumas (Puma concolor) son simpátricos a lo largo de toda la distribución del jaguar. Los pumas son de menor tamaño en las áreas de simpatría con el jaguar y su tamaño incrementa en las áreas en donde los jaguares no están presentes. Este patrón se ha explicado como un resultado de la selección natural promovido a través del desplazamiento de caracteres para evitar la competencia, al menos parcialmente. En este estudio, examinamos y comparamos las medidas del cuerpo y cránio-dentales de jaguares y pumas de un bosque lluvioso tropical del sur de México. La información del tamaño corporal fue obtenida de jaguares y pumas capturados con trampas de lazo en el sureste de México. Se realizó un análisis de componentes principales para medir la variabilidad en el tamaño entre especies y sexos y para caracterizar grupos de individuos de acuerdo a estas variables morfológicas. Finalmente, se compararon las variables morfológicas usando un análisis de varianza y pruebas de comparación de pares utilizando el ajuste de Bonferroni. Nuestros resultados indican que el tamaño del cuerpo y el peso son similares entre las hembras de jaguar y los pumas machos. Sin embargo, el largo y robustez de los caninos y la amplitud de la boca son más grandes en las hembras de jaguar que en los pumas macho...

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Scaling and Accommodation of Jaw Adductor Muscles in Canidae

Penrose

Kemp

Jeffery

2016

The Anatomical Record

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The masticatory apparatus amongst closely related carnivoran species raises intriguing questions about the interplay between allometry, function, and phylogeny in defining interspecific variations of cranial morphology. Here we describe the gross structure of the jaw adductor muscles of several species of canid, and then examine how the muscles are scaled across the range of body sizes, phylogenies, and trophic groups. We also consider how the muscles are accommodated on the skull, and how this is influenced by differences of endocranial size. Data were collected for a suite of morphological metrics, including body mass, endocranial volume, and muscle masses and we used geometric morphometric shape analysis to reveal associated form changes. We find that all jaw adductor muscles scale isometrically against body mass, regardless of phylogeny or trophic group, but that endocranial volume scales with negative allometry against body mass. These findings suggest that head shape is partly influenced by the need to house isometrically scaling muscles on a neurocranium scaling with negative allometry. Principal component analysis suggests that skull shape changes, such as the relatively wide zygomatic arches and large sagittal crests seen in species with higher body masses, allow the skull to accommodate a relative enlargement of the jaw adductors compared with the endocranium. Anat Rec, 299:951–966, 2016. © 2016 The Authors The Anatomical Record: Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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Skull morphology and functionality of extant Felidae (Mammalia: Carnivora): a phylogenetic and evolutionary perspective

Cited by 554 publications

References 84 publications

Anyone with a Long-Face? Craniofacial Evolutionary Allometry (CREA) in a Family of Short-Faced Mammals, the Felidae

Anyone with a Long-Face? Craniofacial Evolutionary Allometry (CREA) in a Family of Short-Faced Mammals, the Felidae

A morphological comparison of jaguars and pumas in southern Mexico

Scaling and Accommodation of Jaw Adductor Muscles in Canidae

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