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Functional morphology of the cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) mandible: a 3D geometric morphometric analysis

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Abstract

The diet of the fossil cave bears (Ursus spelaeus group) has been debated extensively. Thought traditionally to be herbivorous, more recent studies have proposed more meat in the cave bear diet. To test this, the mandibular morphology of cave bears was analysed using 3D geometric morphometrics and compared to that of extant Ursidae. Landmarks for 3D digitisation of the mandible were chosen to reflect functional morphology relating to the temporalis and masseter muscles. Extant and extinct Pleistocene Ursidae were digitised with a MicroScribe G2. Generalised Procrustes superimposition was performed, and data were allometrically and phylogenetically corrected. Principal component analysis (PCA), two-block partial least squares analysis (2B-PLS), regression analysis and discriminant function analysis were performed. PCA and 2B-PLS differentiate between known dietary niches in extant Ursidae. The lineage of the cave bear runs parallel to that of the panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) in morphospace, implying the development of morphological adaptations for eating foliage. A regression of shape onto foliage content in the diet and a discriminant function analysis also indicate that the cave bear diet consisted primarily of foliage.

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Acknowledgments

Specimens were studied in the following museums: Haus der Natur, Salzburg, Austria; Musée de Préhistoire de Tautavel; Museum für Naturkunde, Leibnitz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung and der Humboldt Universtität, Berlin, Germany; Landesmuseum Joanneum, Graz, Austria; Museum of Zoology and Natural History “La Specola”, Firenze, Italy; Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom; Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Vienna, Austria; Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium; Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart, Museum am Löwentor, Germany; Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Universität Wien, Vienna, Austria; Université de Liège, Liège, Belgium. The authors would like to thank the curators at these institutions for granting permission to study the fossils. The authors are also grateful to G. Rabeder, E. Heiss and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on earlier versions of this manuscript, as well as C. Meloro and J. Smaers for advice on statistics. This research received support from the SYNTHESYS Project http://www.synthesys.info/ which is financed by European Community Research Infrastructure Action under the FP6 ‘Structuring the European Research Area’ Programme. This research was partly funded by internal grant 37913 and a 3-year bursary from the University of Roehampton.

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  1. Anneke H. van Heteren

    Present address: Steinmann Institut Bereich Paläontologie, Universität Bonn, Nußallee 8, 53115, Bonn, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Research in Evolutionary and Environmental Anthropology, Department of Life Sciences, University of Roehampton, Holybourne Avenue, London, SW15 4JD, UK

    Anneke H. van Heteren, Ann MacLarnon & Todd C. Rae

  2. Department of Anthropology, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK

    Christophe Soligo

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Correspondence to Anneke H. van Heteren.

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Supplementary Information 1

List of specimens used in the analyses. (PDF 285 kb)

Supplementary Information 2

Statistics pertaining to the allometric correction. (PDF 337 kb)

Supplementary Information 3

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van Heteren, A.H., MacLarnon, A., Soligo, C. et al. Functional morphology of the cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) mandible: a 3D geometric morphometric analysis. Org Divers Evol 16, 299–314 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13127-015-0238-2

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