The mammalian cranium (skull without lower jaw) is representative of mammalian diversity
and is thus of particular interest to mammalian biologists across disciplines. One widely …

Trade-offs and constraints are inherent to life, and studies of these phenomena play a
central role in both organismal and evolutionary biology. Trade-offs can be defined …

Finite element analysis (FEA) is a powerful quantitative tool that models mechanical
performance in virtual reconstructions of complex structures, such as animal skeletons. The …

In vertebrates, bite force is a measure of whole organism performance that is associated with
both cranial morphology and dietary ecology. Mechanistic studies of bite force production …

Previous genetic studies of the highly mobile grey wolf (Canis lupus) found population
structure that coincides with habitat and phenotype differences. We hypothesized that these …

The dramatic expansion of the geographical range of coyotes over the last 90 years is partly
explained by changes to the landscape and local extinctions of wolves, but hybridization …

The morphology and biomechanics of the vertebrate skull reflect the physical properties of
diet and behaviors used in food acquisition and processing. We use phyllostomid bats, the …

Allometric patterns of skull‐shape variation can have significant impacts on cranial
mechanics and feeding performance, but have received little attention in previous studies …

Specialized carnivory is relatively uncommon across mammals, and bats constitute one of
the few groups in which this diet has evolved multiple times. While size and morphological …

The evolutionary history of the Order Carnivora is marked by episodes of iterative evolution.
Although this pattern is widely reported in different carnivoran families, the mechanisms …