Feeding capability in the extinct giant Siamogale melilutra and comparative mandibular biomechanics of living Lutrinae.

ABSTRACT: At 50 kg in estimated weight, the extinct Siamogale melilutra is larger than all living otters, and ranks among the largest fossil otters. The biomechanical capability of S. melilutra jaws as related to their large size is unknown but crucial to reconstructing the species' potentially unique ecological niche. Here we compare the mandibular biomechanics of S. melilutra using engineering-based performance measures against ten extant otter biomechanical models. Despite a wide range of feeding preferences from durophagy to piscivory, living otter species exhibit a linear relationship between mandible stiffness and volume, as expected in isometric model scaling. In contrast, S. melilutra models exhibit a six-fold increase in stiffness from expected stiffness-volume relationships calculated from

SUBMITTER: Tseng ZJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5680181 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature