ArticleScientific reports2019
Raptor talon shape and biomechanical performance are controlled by relative prey size but not by allometry.
Article in Scientific reports, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
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13 citing papers in PubMed.
- Hard-object feeding adaptations infer relative predator-prey size relationships in Devonian placoderms.Scientific reports · 2026Article
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- Engineering the battle: Design-specific analysis of stag beetle mandibles for combat efficiency.PNAS nexus · 2025Article
- Curving expectations: The minimal impact of structural curvature in biological puncture mechanics.Science advances · 2024Article
- Unexpectedly uneven distribution of functional trade-offs explains cranial morphological diversity in carnivores.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Quantitative investigation of pengornithid enantiornithine diet reveals macrocarnivorous ecology evolved in birds by Early Cretaceous.iScience · 2023Article
- Metatarsal fusion resisted bending as jerboas (Dipodidae) transitioned from quadrupedal to bipedal.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2022Article
- Taking a stab at modelling canine tooth biomechanics in mammalian carnivores with beam theory and finite-element analysis.Royal Society open science · 2022Article
- Evolutionary allometry and ecological correlates of fang length evolution in vipers.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2022Article
- Diet of Mesozoic toothed birds (Longipterygidae) inferred from quantitative analysis of extant avian diet proxies.BMC biology · 2022Article
- New Zealand's extinct giant raptor (Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2021Article
- The diet of early birds based on modern and fossil evidence and a new framework for its reconstruction.Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 2021Review
- Head to head: the case for fighting behaviour inProceedings. Biological sciences · 2019Article
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6 authors.
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Abstract
Most birds of prey (raptors), rely heavily on their talons for capturing prey. However, the relationship between talon shape and the ability to take prey is poorly understood. In this study we investigate whether raptor talons have evolved primarily in response to adaptive pressures exerted by different dietary demands, or if talon morphology is largely constrained by allometric or phylogenetic factors. We focus on the hallux talon and include 21 species in total varying greatly in body mass and feeding ecology, ranging from active predation on relatively large prey to obligate scavenging. To quantify the variation in talon shape and biomechanical performance within a phylogenetic framework, we combined three dimensional (3D) geometric morphometrics, finite element modelling and phylogenetic comparative methods. Our results indicate that relative prey size plays a key role in shaping the raptorial talon. Species that hunt larger prey are characterised by both distinct talon shape and mechanical performance when compared to species that predate smaller prey, even when accounting for phylogeny. In contrast to previous results of skull-based analysis, allometry had no significant effect. In conclusion, we found that raptor talon evolution has been strongly influenced by relative prey size, but not allometry and, that talon shape and mechanical performance are good indicators of feeding ecology.
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