Geometric morphometrics of mandibles for dietary differentiation of Bovidae (Mammalia: Artiodactyla).

ABSTRACT: The mammalian family Bovidae has been widely studied in ecomorphological research, with important applications to paleoecological and paleohabitat reconstructions. Most studies of bovid craniomandibular features in relation to diet have used linear measurements. In this study, we conduct landmark-based geometric-morphometric analyses to evaluate whether different dietary groups can be distinguished by mandibular morphology. Our analysis includes data for 100 species of extant bovids, covering all bovid tribes and 2 dietary classifications. For the first classification with 3 feeding categories, we found that browsers (including frugivores), mixed feeders, and grazers are moderately well separated using mandibular shape. A finer dietary classification (frugivore, browser, browser-grazer int

SUBMITTER: Wang B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9113326 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature