The morphology and ontogeny of
biting in hyenas.

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Spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) are highly durophagous, capable of cracking through and consuming bones of large diameter. These social carnivores are recently descended from bone-cracking ancestors with whom they share a suite of cranio-dental characteristics that maximize the ability to feed on virtually all components of a carcass. These include robust premolars used in crushing bone, a large sagittal crest providing increased attachment area for the temporalis, and wide zygomatic arch breadth providing increased masseter attachment. Additionally, a characteristic common to both extinct and extant bone-cracking members of the family Hyaenidae is a caudally elongated frontal sinus that completely overlies the braincase. It has been hypothesized that this sinus functions to increase structural support during bone crushing. With the Biomesh team we have constructed three FEA models of an adult Crocuta skull to elucidate the role of the frontal sinus in force distribution under large loads such as those produced during biting.

Although the feeding apparatus in adult Crocuta is well adapted for durophagy, it takes a relatively long period of time for the skull to reach adult size and shape. Consequently, juveniles are limited in their feeding abilities and are dependent upon maternal care even beyond the age of weaning. Using finite element analysis we are investigating the relationship between shape changes and changes in force distribution in the skull throughout ontogeny.

Contact: Jaime Tanner