Promoter: Jamie MacLaren
Co-promoters: Narimane Chatar, Peter Aerts, Valentin Fisher
Subject: Sabre-toothed carnivorans represent some of the most iconic predators in the fossil record. The extremely elongated upper canines of taxa such as Smilodon and Barbourofelis as yet defy unanimous biomechanical and behavioural understanding, despite many attempts. Moreover, the range of cranial and dental morphologies displayed by sabre-toothed carnivorans imply a range of prey dispatch methods, which in turn may suggest a range of prey sizes. It has often been suggested that the association between sabre-toothed carnivoran fossils and those of megafaunal herbivores (e.g. bison, mammoth, giant rhinoceros, etc.) indicates that the sabre-toothed morphotype was specialised for dispatching very large herbivores; however, the exact range of prey which sabre-toothed carnivorans could dispatch is unknown.
In this project, the student will: (1) visit museum taxidermy collections (e.g. RMCA Tervuren) with a series of 3D printed crania (n≈6, both sabre- and conical-toothed); (2) establish physical gape angles for different sabre-toothed species during a neck-bite on a range of modern herbivores (including ungulates and proboscideans); (3) establish physical feeding brackets for extinct sabre-toothed and conical-toothed cats based on modern herbivorous taxa using published maximum gape angles and known feeding behaviours of modern cats; (4) investigate the range of prey species available to each extinct sabre-toothed taxon from known fossil occurrences which could physically be dispatched.
Student: A successful project will be realised by a student who has an interest in evolution and the relationship between form and function; familiarity with mammalian biology and carnivore-herbivore ecology would be beneficial but not essential. Guidance in all methods will be provided – no prior knowledge required. Familiarity with the R statistical environment will be beneficial, but not essential.
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