Biomechanical bite simulation in Eucyon davisi (Mammalia, Canidae) and comparison with extant Canids
Peri, Emanuele (Università degli Studi di Firenze. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra)
Bartolini-Lucenti, Saverio (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)
Jack, Tseng Z. (University of California. Department of Integrative Biology)
Lorenzo, Rook (Università degli Studi di Firenze. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra)

Data:	2025
Resum:	Despite their ecological impact as predators, several aspects concerning canid palaeoecology remain poorly investigated. This is curious because their evolutionary history displays an intriguing variability in feeding-related adaptations, representing an attractive research topic. To explore this topic, we digitally simulated the bite of the medium-sized fossil canid Eucyon davisi (Late Miocene-Early Pliocene) using Finite Element Analysis (FEA). The aim of this study is the improvement of our knowledge on the feeding ecology of this basal Canini through the comparison of its reaction stress and bite efficiency with those obtained from a sample of extant Canidae. The cranial models were acquired through CT-scan, and the FE simulation was built using a series of trusses to reconstruct the muscles. We simulated a bilateral canine bite, a unilateral carnassial bite, and a unilateral bite at the M1. The stress patterns and the estimated bite forces across the three simulated load cases suggest for E. davisi a generalist ecology recalling the living jackal-like forms of the genus Lupulella. Likely its dietary range covered small vertebrates and non-meat food. Moreover, the FEA results highlight a role of the frontal sinuses in the mechanical behaviour of the cranium during a biting action.
Nota:	Altres ajuts: SBL thanks the support of CERCA Program, Generalitat de Catalunya.
Drets:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Llengua:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Matèria:	Ecology ; Evolution ; Zoology
Publicat a:	Scientific reports, Vol. 15 (July 2025) , art. 25786, ISSN 2045-2322

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-95939-2
PMID: 40670628

11 p, 2.1 MB

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