Mammalian skulls represent a very wide diversity. One of the patterns observed by the researchers included the diversification of mammalian skulls, referred to as ‘craniofacial evolutionary allometry’ (CREA).
This suggests that adult mammals of larger species tend to have relatively longer faces.
According to new findings published in the journal Biological Reviews in November 2023, some large mammals, such as horses, have long faces for some reason.
1. Small and large mammals have different facial shapes
cat illustration (pexels.com/Pixabay)
When compared, small mammals such as cats or mice have different facial shapes from large mammals, such as horses or kangaroos. Large mammals tend to have longer facial shapes.
According to the study, one suggestion is that the CREA pattern may be an innate part of skull development. A mammal’s face automatically becomes longer as the animal grows.
However, keep in mind that a mammal’s large body size does not always mean that its face will always be long.
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2. The shape of the face influences food
horse illustration (pexels.com/Pavel Bak)
The reason large mammals have long faces lies in the biomechanics of the species using their faces for feeding. One important analysis of the study is that closely related animals tend to eat similar foods.
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For example, sheep eat the same grass as cows. However, because sheep are smaller overall, they have to bite harder with their jaws, jaw muscles, and teeth. This makes up most of their face.
A shorter face is considered more efficient at biting hard. This is due to the smaller distance between the jaw muscles and the teeth.
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2024-01-03 07:23:00
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