ArticleCommunications biology2021
Jaw shape and mechanical advantage are indicative of diet in Mesozoic mammals.
Article in Communications biology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers.
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Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 52 citations in OpenAlex.
- A polyphyodont, semiaquatic eutriconodontan mammal from the Early Cretaceous of China.Nature communications · 2026Article
- A perspective from the Mesozoic: Evolutionary changes of the mammalian skull and their influence on feeding efficiency and high-frequency hearing.Anatomical record (Hoboken, N.J. : 2007) · 2026Review
- Fit for purpose? Analysis of the relationship between skull, beak shape and feeding ecology in Psittaciformes.Journal of anatomy · 2026Article
- Osteology of the Feeding Apparatus of Chilean Flamingo Phoenicopterus chilensis (Aves: Phoenicopteridae).Journal of morphology · 2026Article
- Functional Evolution and Modular Behaviour in the Carnivoran Mandible.Integrative and comparative biology · 2026Article
- Article
- Neanderthal-derived variants increase SOX9 enhancer activity in craniofacial progenitors that shape jaw development.Development (Cambridge, England) · 2025Article
- Disparate feeding mechanics between two hadrosaurid dinosaurs support the potential for resource partitioning.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2025Article
- Is cranial anatomy indicative of fossoriality? A case study of the mammaliaform Hadrocodium wui.Anatomical record (Hoboken, N.J. : 2007) · 2025Article
- Transecting and contrasting the feeding designs of the astigmatan community from bird nests.Experimental & applied acarology · 2025Article
- Functional and Character Disparity Are Decoupled in Turtle Mandibles.Ecology and evolution · 2024Article
- Optimal Gearing of Musculoskeletal Systems.Integrative and comparative biology · 2024Article
- Morphological evolution and functional consequences of giantism in tyrannosauroid dinosaurs.iScience · 2024Article
- A new biomechanical model of the mammal jaw based on load path analysis.The Journal of experimental biology · 2024Article
- Unexpectedly uneven distribution of functional trade-offs explains cranial morphological diversity in carnivores.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Uncovering the mosaic evolution of the carnivoran skeletal system.Biology letters · 2024Article
- Article
- Derived faunivores are the forerunners of major synapsid radiations.Nature ecology & evolution · 2023Article
- A switch in jaw form-function coupling during the evolution of mammals.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2023Article
- Shark mandible evolution reveals patterns of trophic and habitat-mediated diversification.Communications biology · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Jaw morphology is closely linked to both diet and biomechanical performance, and jaws are one of the most common Mesozoic mammal fossil elements. Knowledge of the dietary and functional diversity of early mammals informs on the ecological structure of palaeocommunities throughout the longest era of mammalian evolution: the Mesozoic. Here, we analyse how jaw shape and mechanical advantage of the masseter (MAM) and temporalis (MAT) muscles relate to diet in 70 extant and 45 extinct mammals spanning the Late Triassic-Late Cretaceous. In extant mammals, jaw shape discriminates well between dietary groups: insectivores have long jaws, carnivores intermediate to short jaws, and herbivores have short jaws. Insectivores have low MAM and MAT, carnivores have low MAM and high MAT, and herbivores have high MAM and MAT. These traits are also informative of diet among Mesozoic mammals (based on previous independent determinations of diet) and set the basis for future ecomorphological studies.
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