A quantitative approach to the cranial ontogeny of the puma

Abstract

The cranial ontogeny of specialized mammals is relevant to the understanding of the connection of form and function in a developmental, ecological, and evolutionary context. As highly specialized carnivores, felids are of especial interest. We studied the postnatal ontogeny of the skull in Puma concolor (Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae) using a quantitative approach. We interpreted our results in the light of a previous qualitative assessment of ontogenetic changes in the species. This represents one of the few integrative studies of skull development in any extant species of wild felids. We report patterns of multivariate allometry of 19 linear skull dimensions measured in 48 Argentine specimens. We examined the (jackknife resampled) departures from isometry as well as the interplay of isometric and allometric trends in shaping the puma skull. Both the qualitative and quantitative results indicate that the major ontogenetic changes are directly linked to cranial structures that support a developing masticatory apparatus and its associated jaw and neck musculature, which are essential for the action of canines and carnassials during the killing bite and slicing flesh. Sexual differences suggest allometric scaling (hypo-or hyper-morphosis) as key processes in the development of the puma skull.

Three-dimensional cranial ontogeny in pantherines (Panthera leo,P. onca,P. pardus,P. tigris; Carnivora:, Felidae)

“…Therefore, the changes observed in the crania of Pantherines imply the negative allometry of neurocranium (braincase, orbits and auditory bulla) and positive allometry of splanchnocranium (rostrum, palate). These patterns were previously recognized and reported in felids using different methodologies (Biknevicius & Leigh, 1997;Segura & Flores, 2009;Slater & Van Valkenburgh, 2009;Giannini et al, 2010;Prevosti, Turazzini & Chemisquy, 2010;Segura et al, 2013;Segura, 2015) and seem to be plesiomorphic to mammals (Emerson & Bramble, 1993).…”

“…: Garc ıa-Perea, 1996;Lynx rufus: Crowe, 1975;Tumlison & McDaniel, 1984;Jackson, Gluesing & Jacobson, 1988;Johnson, Brown & Bosomworth, 1981; Prionailurus bengalensis: Nakanishi et al, 2009;Puma concolor: Biknevicius, 1996;Biknevicius & Leigh, 1997;Gay & Best, 1996;Laundr e et al, 2000;Shaw et al, 2007). In addition some groups (Segura & Flores, 2009;Giannini et al, 2010;Segura et al, 2013;Segura, 2015) studied the ontogenetic changes and their functional consequences in Acinonyx jubatus, Herpailurus yagouaroundi, Lynx rufus and Puma concolor. The patterns of cranial ontogeny have been investigated in Pantherines using a descriptive approach that focused on general information about breeding in P. tigris (Sankhala, 1967), growth of body mass (in Pantherines: Carvalho, 1968;P.…”

Ontogenetic and sexual variation in cranial characters of Aegialomys Xanthaeolus (Thomas, 1894)(Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae) from Ecuador and Peru

“…Other facial skeleton dimensions (BR2, LN) show an elongation of the rostrum as the individual grows from classes 1 and 2 to classes 3, 4 and 5. On the other hand, both measurements on the molar series showed no significant variation in any age group, indicating that molars do not exhibit ontogenetic quantitative variation, despite noticeable qualitative variation described above on age classes (Carleton & Musser, 1989;Voss, 1991;Giannini et al 2009). In general, this ontogenetic variation described for A. xanthaeolus followed the pattern described by Voss (1991) for Zygodontomys, and Carleton & Musser (1989) for Microryzomys.…”

A quantitative approach to the cranial ontogeny of Lycalopex culpaeus (Carnivora: Canidae)

“…To calculate this conWdence interval, n pseudosamples are generated such that a new Wrst unit eigenvector is calculated from a matrix with one specimen of L. culpaeus removed at a time (with n equal to the number of specimens). In each cycle, a pseudovalue is calculated for each eigenvector element using the formula for the Wrst-order jackknife (see Giannini et al 2010 for details). The mean of n pseudovalues represents the jackknife estimate of the multivariate allometry coeYcient for that variable.…”