KENNEDY, Natalia K*; FARTASH, Arian; VAN VALKENBURGH, Blaire ; University of California, Los Angeles; University of California, Los Angeles; University of California, Los Angeles: Adaptations of the cervical spine to prey capture in canines

Modern canines practice two different kinds of prey capture: pounce/pursuit and pursuit predation. Typically, smaller canines use the pounce/pursuit method and hunt prey their size or smaller, while larger canines use the pursuit method and often kill prey much larger than themselves. Killing relatively large prey solely with the jaws should place substantial loads on cervical vertebrae. Although previous research has documented craniodental adaptations for predation in canids, little quantitative work has been done on the neck. This study explores the relationship between the osteology of the cervical spine and prey capture by comparing three extant canines with a spectrum of diets from least carnivorous to hypercarnivorous. The cervical vertebrae of foxes, coyotes and wolves were measured and digital images were evaluated for additional measurements. After adjusting for size, the data were compared to each other using multivariate statistics to reveal significant differences in the structure of the cervical spine. Preliminary results indicate that there are significant differences in some cervical measurements, indicating that vertebral morphology can be used to infer aspects of hunting behavior in extinct canids.