IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Biknevicius, A.R.; van Valkenburgh, B. | |
| Design for killing: craniodental adaptations of predators | |
| 1996 Book Chapter | |
Predaceous carnivorans (members of the order Carnivora) are those whose diets are composed principally of vertebrate prey that they capture and kill. All predators rely on strong skulls, jaws, and teeth to kill and dismember their prey. Killing techniques, however, may differ; felids kill with a single, penetrating bite, whereas canids and hyaenids are more likely to kill with several, shallower bites. Not surprisingly, differences among carnivoran species in killing and feeding behaviour are evident in the morphology and biomechanics of their skulls and teeth. Since the publication of Ewer's (1973) superb book, there have been numerous studies of form and function in the carnivoran skull. Most of these studies are more quantitative than those reported in the past; most use the tools of the engineer to model bones and teeth as beams of various dimensions and on that basis calculate expected stresses. Below, we review much of this more recent work, discussing it within the context of the two tasks that are critical for a predator's success, making a kill and consuming a carcass. In addition, we present an example of the application of biomechanical analysis to the inference of function in three extinct carnivorans, the sabertooth cat (_Smilodon fatalis_), the giant American lion (_Panthera atrox_), and the dire wolf (_Canis dirus_). We begin with a discussion of the feeding problems that confront a terrestrial mammalian predator and the anatomical building blocks that compose their skulls, jaws, and teeth. |
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