Ontogeny of cranial musculoskeletal anatomy and its relationship to allometric increase in bite force in an insectivorous bat (<scp><i>Eptesicus fuscus</i></scp>)

Stanchak, Kathryn E; Faure, Paul; Santana, Sharlene E.

doi:10.1002/ar.25213

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 46 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…A topic that has been better studied with respect to ecological adaptations is the development of the masticatory apparatus. In this issue, Stanchak et al (2023) track measurements of muscular and skeletal morphology and size in a cross‐sectional age sample of a species of insectivorous bat ( Eptesicus fuscus ). With increasing postnatal age, they report profound increases in masticatory muscle volume and related surface area for attachment sites in the skull.…”

Section: Life History Of Bats: Strategies For a Most Specialized Exis...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecomorphology and sensory biology of bats

Smith,

Santana,

Eiting

2023

The Anatomical Record

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This special issue of The Anatomical Record is inspired by and dedicated to Professor Kunwar P. Bhatnagar, whose lifelong interests in biology, and long career studying bats, inspired many and advanced our knowledge of the world's only flying mammals. The 15 articles included here represent a broad range of investigators, treading topics familiar to Prof. Bhatnagar, who was interested in seemingly every aspect of bat biology. Key topics include broad themes of bat development, sensory systems, and specializations related to flight and diet. These articles paint a complex picture of the fascinating adaptations of bats, such as rapid fore limb development, ear morphologies relating to echolocation, and other enhanced senses that allow bats to exploit niches in virtually every part of the world. In this introduction, we integrate and contextualize these articles within the broader story of bat ecomorphology, providing an overview of each of the key themes noted above. This special issue will serve as a springboard for future studies both in bat biology and in the broader world of mammalian comparative anatomy and ecomorphology.

show abstract

Section: Life History Of Bats: Strategies For a Most Specialized Exis...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecomorphology and sensory biology of bats

Smith,

Santana,

Eiting

2023

The Anatomical Record

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Growth patterns of theoretical bite force and jaw musculature in southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis)

Law

2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The transition from milk to solid food requires equally drastic changes in the morphology of the feeding apparatus and biting performance. As durophagous mammals, southern sea otters exhibit significant ontogenetic changes in cranial and mandibular morphology to presumably enable them to feed on a variety of hard-shelled invertebrate prey. However, how quickly juvenile otters reach sufficient maturity in biting performances remained unknown. Here, I found that theoretical bite force of southern sea otters does not reach full maturity until during the adult stage at 3.6 and 5.0 years of age in females and males, respectively. The slow maturation of biting performance can be directly attributed to the slow growth and development of the cranium and the primary jaw adductor muscle (i.e., the temporalis) and may ultimately impact the survival of newly weaned juveniles by limiting their ability to process certain hard-shelled prey. Alterative foraging behaviors such as tool use, however, may mitigate the disadvantages of delayed maturation of biting performance. In analyses of sexual dimorphism, I found that growth in male bite force enables them to quickly reach sufficient biting performances needed to process prey early in life. This is followed by a slower growth phase towards bite force maturation that coincides with sexual maturity, thus enabling them to compete with other males for resources and mates. Overall, this study demonstrates how the analysis of anatomical data can provide insight on the foraging ecologies and life histories of sea otters across ontogeny.

show abstract

Ontogeny of the masticatory muscles in the opossum Didelphis albiventris (Marsupialia, Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae)

Abreu,

Astúa

2024

Journal of Anatomy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Opossums (marsupials of the Didelphidae family) retain a generalized masticatory apparatus and tribosphenic molars, often used as models to understand the evolution of mastication in early therian mammals. Like all marsupials, their growth goes through a stage when pups complete their development while permanently attached to the mother's teats before weaning and starting feeding on their own. Yet, while the masticatory muscles of adults are known, as is the ontogeny of the cranium and mandible, the ontogenetic changes in the masticatory muscles remain unknown. Here we describe for the first time the changes in the masticatory muscles observed in lactating pups, and weaned juveniles, subadults, and adults in the White‐eared opossum, Didelphis albiventris, through dissection of 25 specimens and quantification of relative muscle masses, lines of actions and mechanical advantages whenever possible. We also assessed the scaling patterns of muscle masses and mechanical advantages through ontogeny. The main changes, as expected, were found between suckling and weaned specimens, although some changes still occurred from juveniles to adults. The adult adductor musculature is similar to the other Didelphis species already known, with a dominant m. temporalis that originates on the lateral wall of the skull, up to the sagittal and nuchal crests, and fills the zygomatic arch when inserting into the lateral and medial surfaces of the coronoid process, respectively through the pars superficialis and pars profunda. The m. masseter is also subdivided in superficial and deep bundles which originate posteriorly in the maxilla and zygomatic arch, and insert into the angular process and masseteric fossa in the mandible. The m. pterygoideus medialis originates from the palatine, the pterygoid bone and the alisphenoid, and it inserts on the angular process medially. Suckling pups showed muscles with more restricted attachments, reduced muscle lines of action, and less diversity in the fiber orientation. The absence of the postorbital constriction also resulted in a distinct morphology of the m. temporalis pars profunda, through two bundles, one anterior and one posterior, which insert more inferiorly into the mandible. These major changes can be related to the onset of mastication and to size‐related changes in growing weaned age classes. In general, all adductor muscles grew with positive allometry, and increased their fixation areas through, in part, the development of specific regions of the cranium and mandible. Their lines of action also increase and diversify along ontogeny. These changes can be related to the functional requirements for fixation during lactation, which shift to adduction and mastication movements after weaning.

show abstract

Ontogeny of cranial musculoskeletal anatomy and its relationship to allometric increase in bite force in an insectivorous bat (Eptesicus fuscus)

Cited by 5 publications

References 46 publications

Ecomorphology and sensory biology of bats

Ecomorphology and sensory biology of bats

Growth patterns of theoretical bite force and jaw musculature in southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis)

Ontogeny of the masticatory muscles in the opossum Didelphis albiventris (Marsupialia, Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About