The Head and Neck Muscles of the Serval and Tiger: Homologies, Evolution, and Proposal of a Mammalian and a Veterinary Muscle Ontology

Abstract

Here we describe the head and neck muscles of members of the two extant felid subfamilies (Leptailurus serval: Felinae; Panthera tigris: Pantherinae) and compare these muscles with those of other felids, other carnivorans (e.g., domestic dogs), other eutherian mammals (e.g., rats, treeshrews and modern humans), and noneutherian mammals including monotremes. Another major goal of the article is to discuss and help clarify nomenclatural discrepancies found in the Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria and in veterinary atlases and textbooks that use cats and dogs as models to understand the anatomy of domestic mammals and to stress differences with modern humans. We propose a unifying nomenclature that is expanded to all the head and neck muscles and to all mammalian taxa in order to help build veterinary and mammalian muscle ontologies. Our observations and comparisons and the specific use of this nomenclature point out that felids such as tigers and servals and other carnivorans such as dogs have more facial muscle structures related to the mobility of both the auricular and orbital regions than numerous other mammals, including modern humans, which might be the result of an ancient adaptation related to the remarkable predatory capacities of carnivorans. Interestingly, the skeletal differences, mainly concerning the hyoid apparatus, pharynx, and larynx, that are likely associated with the different types of vocalizations seen in the Felinae (mainly purring) and Pantherinae (mainly roaring) are not accompanied by clear differences in the musculature connected to these structures in the feline L. serval and the pantherine P. tigris.

Development and application of CatFACS: Are human cat adopters influenced by cat facial expressions?

“…In fact, what was found here is that the basic muscle plan is quite similar to other carnivores, and the basic anatomical structure and function are not widely different when comparing with other taxonomical groups (e.g. Diogo et al, 2012). Additionally, the domestic cat has been found to have an extensive network of vibrissa with robust and well-developed intrinsic musculature (Muchlinski et al, 2013), which could influence the range of facial expressions as well.…”

“…Vick et al, 2007;Waller et al, 2013). First, we examined the existing literature on the facial musculature of the domestic cat and performed a subsequent comparison with humans' facial musculature (Ekman et al, 2002;Diogo et al, 2009Diogo et al, , 2012 to identify possible muscular homologies. Original dissections of the facial muscles have been carried out in some cases (e.g.…”

The mandibular muscles of the Puma concolor (Mammalia, Carnivora, Felidae)

“…1A) is a broad muscle on the lateral side of the face and its function is to elevate the mandible. This muscle has been described in felids such as domestic cat (Felis catus, Linnaeus 1758), serval (Leptailurus serval, Schreber 1776), and tiger (Panthera tigris) (Sasaki et al, 2000;Laison et al, 2001;Diogo et al, 2012). In L. serval and P. tigris, the masseter is divided into three layers (ventral, superficial and deep bundles) but in the present study only two layers were distinguishable: a superficial bundle (superficialis), which was the largest, and a deeper bundle profundus.…”

“…A skull of puma was available for comparison and identification of skulls features during dissection. The muscular nomenclature used by Diogo et al (2012) was employed. The following masticatory muscles were dissected in order to determine their origin and insertion: the masseter, temporalis, digastricus, pterygoideus medialis, pterygoideus lateralis, and mylohyoideus.…”

“…In L. serval and P. tigris, the masseter is divided into three layers (ventral, superficial and deep bundles) but in the present study only two layers were distinguishable: a superficial bundle (superficialis), which was the largest, and a deeper bundle profundus. The division of the masseter muscle into three layers or bundles is a feature well represented within felids (Diogo et al, 2012). Nevertheless, in the P. concolor only two layers were present as in the small felids such as F. catus (Marcelo Carrera Pers.…”