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Segura, V.; Prevosti, F.; Cassini, G.
Cranial ontogeny in the Puma lineage, _Puma concolor, Herpailurus yagouaroundi,_ and _Acinonyx jubatus_ (Carnivora: Felidae): a three-dimensional geometric morphometric approach
2013  Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society (169): 235-250

The Puma lineage is a monophyletic group that includes three living species: _Puma concolor_, _Herpailurus yagouaroundi_, and _Acinonyx jubatus_. It has been analysed from ecological and taxonomic perspectives, but their cranial ontogeny has been poorly studied. In this study, we assessed the cranial shape and size variation through three-dimensional geometric morphometric techniques, and explored the acquisition of definitive shape and size in relation to key life-history events. Each species occupied different locations in the shape morphospace: _A. jubatus_ and _P. concolor _showed shorter and wider skulls, with more expanded zygomatic arches, than _H. yagouaroundi_, which presented the most divergent pattern of change. Ontogeny was more similar between _P. concolor_ and _A. jubatus_ than between the closely related _P. concolor_ and _H. yagouaroundi_. The evolution of ontogenetic change in the lineage seems to be more influenced by size. Changes detected between juvenile and adult skulls enhanced predatory skills, coincident with the change from a diet of milk to a carnivorous diet. Change patterns suggest that the skull is not morphologically conservative in the lineage, in contrast with other carnivores such as canids and hyaenids. The enlargement of the rostrum observed in some canids and the reinforcement of the bite mechanism of hyaenids were not detected in this group.

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