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From dogs to seals to cats, members of the mammalian order Carnivora can vary greatly from one species to another. But for the most part, their skulls all tend to take on some variant of just a few shapes -- a pattern scientists have long attributed to shared diets. New research reveals that the evolution of skull shape in this group is actually much more complex and is influenced by nondietary factors.
A combination of digital modeling and biomechanical analysis allowed researchers to pinpoint specific shape changes related to ecological factors, and then to test the functional importance of those shape changes using bite simulations. The results show, for the first time, that nondietary factors significantly influence both skull form and function in carnivoran species.Image credit: © Bailee Desrocher
