What question did this study set out to answer?

To evaluate how skull morphology and jaw biomechanics correlate with mouth-oriented fish capture versus hand-oriented invertebrate foraging across otter species and sea otter subspecies.

December 9, 2015PLoS ONEOpen Access

Divergent Skull Morphology Supports Two Trophic Specializations in Otters (Lutrinae)

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Authors

LDLori A. DavisGoogle (United States)TDThomas J. DeWittUniversity of North Texas CMChristopher D. MarshallTexas A&M University at Galveston

Discussion

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Implication

Comparative biomechanical analysis reveals skull shape divergence linked to prey capture strategy in otters, suggesting both ancient evolutionary shifts and rapid subspecies adaptations.

Key Points

To evaluate how skull morphology and jaw biomechanics correlate with mouth-oriented fish capture versus hand-oriented invertebrate foraging across otter species and sea otter subspecies.
Examined cranial and mandibular morphology and estimated bite performance across two mouth-oriented piscivores (Pteronura brasiliensis and Lontra canadensis) and two hand-oriented invertebrate specialists (Enhydra lutris and Aonyx cinerea).
Quantified intraspecific variation in mandibular bluntness, mechanical advantage, and occlusal surface area across three geographically isolated sea otter subspecies with differing diets.
Mouth-oriented piscivorous otters exhibited elongated, narrow skulls optimized for rapid jaw closure, whereas hand-oriented invertebrate specialists possessed shorter, blunter skulls with greater mechanical advantage and crushing capacity.
Sea otters displayed the highest mandibular bluntness index among sampled species, with subspecies showing distinct morphological divergence corresponding to their primary consumption of fish versus hard invertebrates.
Evolutionary reconstructions indicate both deeply rooted transitions between main foraging modes and rapid microevolutionary adaptations at the subspecies level.

Cite This Study

Davis et al. (2015) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a9a4d8f41a08ee6cc4e3b1d https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0143236

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Implication

Comparative biomechanical analysis reveals skull shape divergence linked to prey capture strategy in otters, suggesting both ancient evolutionary shifts and rapid subspecies adaptations.

Divergent Skull Morphology Supports Two Trophic Specializations in Otters (Lutrinae)

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

Divergent Skull Morphology Supports Two Trophic Specializations in Otters (Lutrinae)

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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