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A quantitative approach to the cranial ontogeny of the puma

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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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Vertebrate Zoology (Mammalogy), American Museum of Natural History, USA

    Norberto P. Giannini

  2. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Argentina

    Norberto P. Giannini, Valentina Segura & David Flores

  3. Programa de Investigaciones de Biodiversidad Argentina, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e IML, Universidad nacional de Tucumán, Argentina

    Norberto P. Giannini

  4. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales Bernardino Rivadavia, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Valentina Segura & David Flores

  5. Departamento de Matemática, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Tecnología, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Argentina

    María Isabel Giannini

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  1. Norberto P. Giannini
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  2. Valentina Segura
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  3. María Isabel Giannini
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  4. David Flores
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Correspondence to Norberto P. Giannini.

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Giannini, N.P., Segura, V., Giannini, M.I. et al. A quantitative approach to the cranial ontogeny of the puma. Mamm Biol 75, 547–554 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mambio.2009.08.001

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