Evolution of Cranial Ontogeny in Felids (Carnivora: Felidae)

SEGURA V.; CASSINI G.

Zurich

Congreso; 96th Annual Meeting of the German Society for Mammalian Biology; 2023

German Society for Mammalian Biology

Evolution of Cranial Ontogeny in Felids (Carnivora: Felidae)Valentina Segura1 Guillermo Cassini2 1Unidad Ejecutora Lillo (CONICET-Fundación Miguel Lillo). Miguel Lillo 251, San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina vseguragago@gmail.com 2Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales Bernardino Rivadavia (CONICET). Av. Ángel Gallardo 470, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, ArgentinaThe family Felidae forms a monophyletic clade supported by molecular and morphological data and organized into eight major lineages that radiated rapidly during the mid-late Miocene. All felids are efficient predators and share morphological characters related to a diet exclusively based on flesh (hyper carnivory), such as reduced non-carnassial postcanine dentition and short faces. In this report, we analyzed the ontogenetic pattern in a sample of 1296 skulls of 16 species of felids belonging to five of the eight extant lineages by applying 3D geometric morphometric and linear techniques. The study aimed to explore the variation in cranial size and shape as well as the evolutionary patterns of such variation. Our results indicate that the species diverged in morphospace into two groups resembling ecomorphs previously reported: small and large cats. In this way, the evolution of ontogenetic changes in the lineages seems to be more influenced by size. The most important ontogenetic changes observed in the skull were the development of cranial structures related to the increase of placement of attachment of masticatory and neck musculature, which are essential during the killing bite and slicing of flesh. These modifications are directly linked to emphasizing predatory skills and coincident with the change from a milk to a carnivorous diet. The patterns of change observed in adults suggest that the skull is not morphologically conservative, and the ontogenetic scaling of most cranial dimensions is not approach to isometry in felids. These results do not agree with those previously reported for this group.