Dataset Information

Mega-Bites: extreme jaw forces of living and extinct piranhas (Serrasalmidae).

ABSTRACT: Here, we document in-vivo bite forces recorded from wild piranhas. Integrating this empirical data with allometry, bite simulations, and FEA, we have reconstructed the bite capabilities and potential feeding ecology of the extinct giant Miocene piranha, Megapiranha paranensis. An anterior bite force of 320 N from the black piranha, Serrasalmus rhombeus, is the strongest bite force recorded for any bony fish to date. Results indicate M. paranensis' bite force conservatively ranged from 1240-4749 N and reveal its novel dentition was capable of resisting high bite stresses and crushing vertebrate bone. Comparisons of body size-scaled bite forces to other apex predators reveal S. rhombeus and M. paranensis have among the most powerful bites estimated in carnivorous vertebrates. Our results functionally demonstrate the extraordinary bite of serrasalmid piranhas and provide a mechanistic rationale for their predatory dominance among past and present Amazonian ichthyofaunas.

SUBMITTER: Grubich JR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3526859 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Mega-Bites: extreme jaw forces of living and extinct piranhas (Serrasalmidae).

Grubich Justin R JR Huskey Steve S Crofts Stephanie S Orti Guillermo G Porto Jorge J

Scientific reports 20121220

Here, we document in-vivo bite forces recorded from wild piranhas. Integrating this empirical data with allometry, bite simulations, and FEA, we have reconstructed the bite capabilities and potential feeding ecology of the extinct giant Miocene piranha, Megapiranha paranensis. An anterior bite force of 320 N from the black piranha, Serrasalmus rhombeus, is the strongest bite force recorded for any bony fish to date. Results indicate M. paranensis' bite force conservatively ranged from 1240-4749 ...[more]

PMID: 23259047

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Project description:Specialized acrobatic leaping has been recognized as a key adaptive trait tied to the origin and subsequent radiation of euprimates based on its observed frequency in extant primates and inferred frequency in extinct early euprimates. Hypothesized skeletal correlates include elongated tarsal elements, which would be expected to aid leaping by allowing for increased rates and durations of propulsive acceleration at takeoff. Alternatively, authors of a recent study argued that pronounced distal calcaneal elongation of euprimates (compared to other mammalian taxa) was related primarily to specialized pedal grasping. Testing for correlations between calcaneal elongation and leaping versus grasping is complicated by body size differences and associated allometric affects. We re-assess allometric constraints on, and the functional significance of, calcaneal elongation using phylogenetic comparative methods, and present an evolutionary hypothesis for the evolution of calcaneal elongation in primates using a Bayesian approach to ancestral state reconstruction (ASR). Results show that among all primates, logged ratios of distal calcaneal length to total calcaneal length are inversely correlated with logged body mass proxies derived from the area of the calcaneal facet for the cuboid. Results from phylogenetic ANOVA on residuals from this allometric line suggest that deviations are explained by degree of leaping specialization in prosimians, but not anthropoids. Results from ASR suggest that non-allometric increases in calcaneal elongation began in the primate stem lineage and continued independently in haplorhines and strepsirrhines. Anthropoid and lorisid lineages show stasis and decreasing elongation, respectively. Initial increases in calcaneal elongation in primate evolution may be related to either development of hallucal-grasping or a combination of grasping and more specialized leaping behaviors. As has been previously suggested, subsequent increases in calcaneal elongation are likely adaptations for more effective acrobatic leaping, highlighting the importance of this behavior in early euprimate evolution.

Dataset Information

Mega-Bites: extreme jaw forces of living and extinct piranhas (Serrasalmidae).

Publications

Mega-Bites: extreme jaw forces of living and extinct piranhas (Serrasalmidae).

Similar Datasets

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