Meeting Abstract

P1.122  Saturday, Jan. 4 15:30  Masticatory Musculature of Dietarily Diverse Musteloid Carnivorans DAVIS, JS*; WILLIAMS, SH; Ohio University; Ohio University jd330008@ohio.edu

The masticatory muscles of most mammalian species must produce complex masticatory movements while balancing the often-conflicting demands of gape, force generation, and stability. This set of requirements is reflected in their complex architecture. Perhaps because animal tissues are easily digested and require less inter-oral processing than plant foods, carnivorans are generally presumed to have relatively simple masticatory musculature. However, there is little comparative evidence to support this view. Additionally, although most carnivorans retain the carnivorous diet that characterizes the group, there are also several species that are omnivorous and a few have even specialized on plant-based diets. Here, detailed gross dissection and digital imaging were used to compare the masticatory muscles of 4 species of dietarily diverse musteloid carnivorans: the carnivorous domesticated ferret (Mustela putorius furo, Mustelidae), the omnivorous ringtailed coati (Nasua nasua, Procyonidae) and raccoon (Procyon lotor, Procyonidae), and the frugivorous kinkajou (Potos flavus, Procyonidae). Lugol’s Iodine was used as a contrast solution to facilitate detailed visualization of soft tissues imaged using microCT scanning. 3D reconstructions of muscle compartments were rendered from the contrast-enhanced scans. All species possessed complex masticatory musculature involving myotendinous junctions incompletely separating compartments with diverse fiber directions. However, there are notable interspecific differences, including patterns of fiber orientation within compartments and the size and position of compartments as well as entire muscles relative to the cranium and jaw. These differences are hypothesized to reflect the diverse dietary specializations represented in this group.