112:
245:
103:
398:
236:) had massive carnassial molars. A recent study concludes that these teeth produced the strongest bite of any known land mammal in history. Moreover, these carnassial molars appear to have been used, unlike in any other known mammal, to inflict the killing blow to the prey by severing the spinal cord, crushing the windpipe or severing a major artery. Like these true marsupials, the closely related
31:
263:
it is M2 and m3. Unlike most modern carnivorans, in which the carnassials are the sole shearing teeth, in the creodonts other molars have a subordinate shearing function. The fact that the two lineages developed carnassials from different types of teeth has been used as evidence against the validity
240:
of South
America had three carnassial teeth involving the first three upper molars (M1-M3) and the second through fourth lower molars (m2-m4). In the borhyaenids the upper carnassials appear to have been rotated medially around the anterior-posterior axis of the tooth row in order to maintain tight
194:
Carnassial teeth are modified molars (and in the case of carnivorans premolars) which are adapted to allow for the shearing (rather than tearing) of flesh to permit the more efficient consumption of meat. These modifications are not limited to the members of the order
Carnivora, but are seen in a
330:
The scissor-like motion is created by the movement between the carnassial pair when the jaw occludes. The inside of the fourth upper pre-molar closely passes by the outer surface of the first lower molar, thus allowing the sharp cusps of the carnassial teeth to slice through meat.
372:
357:
84:
that act similar to a pair of shears for cutting meat. This dental arrangement has been modified by adaptation over the past 60 million years for diets composed of meat, for crushing vegetation, or for the loss of the carnassial function altogether found in
464:, have a flattened, more blunt carnassial pair than leopards. This reflects the bear's diet, as the flattened carnassials are useful both in slicing meat and grinding up vegetation, whereas the leopard's sharp carnassial pairs are more adapted for its
318:
In modern carnivorans the carnassial teeth pairs are found on either side of the jaw and are composed of the fourth upper pre-molar and the first lower molar (P4/m1). The location these carnassial pairs is determined primarily by the
843:
Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska, Richard L. Cifelli, Zhe-Xi Luo (2004). "Chapter 7: Eutriconodontans". Mammals from the Age of
Dinosaurs: origins, evolution, and structure. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 216–248.
804:
Morlo, M., Gunnell G., and P.D. Polly. 2009. What, if not nothing, is a creodont? Phylogeny and classification of
Hyaenodontida and other former creodonts. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 29(Supplement 3):
376:
374:
523:(a large swollen lump under the eye). Extraction or root canal procedure (with or without a crown) of the tooth is necessary to ensure that no further complications occur, as well as pain medication and
361:
359:
280:
are thought to have had a function similar to those of carnassials, sharing a similar shearing function. Eutriconodonts possess several speciations towards animalivory, and the larger forms such as
273:
had particularly convergent teeth, in particular M1 and M2, which bore expanded heels and broad stylar shelves. These were particularly suited for crushing over an exclusively slicing action.
375:
916:
111:
360:
44:
are paired upper and lower teeth modified in such a way as to allow enlarged and often self-sharpening edges to pass by each other in a shearing manner. This adaptation is found in
199:, for example, had no carnassial adaptations, and as a result, the blunt, rounded cusps on its molars had a much more difficult time reducing meat. Likewise, neither members of
795:
Matthew, William Diller (August 1909). "The
Carnivora and Insectivora of the Bridger Basin, Middle Eocene". Memoirs of the American Museum of Natural History 9. pp. 289–576.
373:
358:
255:
have two or three pairs of carnassial teeth, but only one pair performed the cutting function: either M1/m2 or M2/m3, depending on the family. In
226:) possessed modified molars to allow for shearing, although the Tasmanian wolf, the larger of the two, had dentition more similar to the dog. The
927:
959:
832:
627:
594:
452:
The shape and size of sectorial teeth of different carnivorous animals vary depending on diet, illustrated by the comparisons of bear (
669:
849:
753:
572:
244:
365:
Video demonstrating the shearing action of the carnassial teeth in a carnivoran jaw. Filmed at
Imperial College London.
746:
Evolution of
Tertiary Mammals of North America. Volume 1: Terrestrial Carnivores, Ungulates, and Ungulatelike Mammals.
586:
814:
Polly, P.D. 1994. What, if anything, is a creodont? Journal of
Vertebrate Paleontology 14(Supplement 3): 42A.
1134:
1129:
766:
Matthew, William Diller (August 1909). "The
Carnivora and Insectivora of the Bridger Basin, Middle Eocene".
944:
Feldhamer, George A.; Drickamer, Lee C.; Vessey, Stephen H.; Merritt, Joseph F.; Krajewski, Carey (2015).
718:
Marshall, Larry G. (1978). "Evolution of the
Borhyaenidae, Extinct South American Predaceous Marsupials".
689:"Cranial mechanics compared in extinct marsupial and extant African lions using a finite element approach"
1109:
642:
Wortman, Jacob Lawson (May 1901). "Studies of Eocene Mammalia in the Marsh Collection, Peabody Museum,"
497:
334:
The length and size of the carnassial teeth vary between species, taking into account factors such as:
1057:
195:
number of different mammal groups. Not all carnivorous mammals, however, developed carnassial teeth.
232:
1048:
Leonard, J (2007). "Megafaunal extinctions and the disappearance of a specialized wolf ecomorph".
200:
1139:
1091:
897:
576:
299:
294:
72:. Carnivorans possess a common arrangement of teeth called carnassials, in which the first lower
951:
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492:
and with large carnassial teeth relative to its overall skull size. This adaptation allowed the
1083:
955:
889:
845:
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On the other hand, carnivorous marsupials have teeth of a carnassial form. Both the living
493:
446:
323:. In this position, the carnassial teeth benefit from most of the force generated by this
320:
211:
1061:
397:
260:
219:
276:
Though not superficially similar, the triconodont teeth of some early mammals such as
102:
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277:
204:
81:
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53:
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901:
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fish also developed carnassials eerily convergent with those of modern carnivorans.
302:
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muscle, allowing for efficient shearing and cutting of flesh, tendon and muscle.
524:
324:
307:
288:
282:
269:
227:
45:
17:
441:
indicates the presence of carnassial teeth 50 million years ago, implying that
30:
1069:
519:
Carnassial teeth infections are common in domestic dogs. They can present as
267:
Modern carnivorous bats generally lack true carnassial teeth, but the extinct
256:
196:
604:
520:
485:
461:
442:
312:
252:
248:
Comparison of carnassial teeth of wolf and typical hyaenodontid and oxyaenid
86:
69:
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893:
481:
473:
171:
77:
49:
1078:
884:
863:
163:
129:
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Wear and cracking of the carnassial teeth in a wild carnivore (e.g. a
380:
Video demonstrating the shearing action of carnassial teeth in a dog (
780:
489:
179:
145:
786:
The discussion concerning creodont carnassials is found at page 321.
993:
976:
917:"Independent Acquisition of Carnassial Teeth in Fishes and Mammals"
688:
401:
A comparison of the size and shape of carnassial teeth in: bear (
396:
370:
355:
243:
155:
29:
1030:. The Natural History Collections of the University of Edinburgh
513:
509:
241:
occlusional contact between the upper and lower shearing teeth.
121:
825:
Evolutionary History of Bats: Fossils, Molecules and Morphology
516:) may result in the death of the individual due to starvation.
298:
probably fed on vertebrate prey. Similarly the "tooth lips" of
137:
35:
720:
University of California Publications in Geological Sciences
1008:
Savage, R.J.G. (1977). "Evolution in carnivorous mammals".
736:
Gunnell, Gregg F. (1998). "Creodonta." pp. 91-109 at p. 91
620:
Bringing Fossils to Life: An Introduction to Paleobiology
68:
The name carnivoran is applied to a member of the order
259:, it is M1 and m2 that form the carnassials. Among the
977:"The Origin of the Specialized Teeth of the Carnivora"
48:, where the carnassials are the modified fourth upper
950:. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p.
582:
Dogs: Their Fossil Relatives and Evolutionary History
670:"Essay: A Brief Outline of the Teeth of Marsupialia"
622:. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 550.
348:
the size of the chunk of meat that can be swallowed.
868:
and other Rhynchocephalia (Diapsida: Lepidosauria)"
484:existed that was similar in size to a large extant
768:Memoirs of the American Museum of Natural History
311:are described as "carnassial-like". A lineage of
8:
1110:"Taking the bite out of tooth extractions"
433:). Photo taken at Imperial College London.
1077:
1028:"Natural History Collections: Carnivores"
992:
947:Mammalogy: Adaptation, Diversity, Ecology
883:
779:
740:C.M. Janis, K.M. Scott, and L.L. Jacobs (
384:) jaw. Filmed at Imperial College London.
188:Photos taken at Imperial College London.
748:Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
668:Ettelson, Zara Henrietta (March 1915).
536:
456:) carnassials with those of a leopard (
56:. These teeth are also referred to as
864:"Skull shape and feeding strategy in
7:
827:, Cambridge University Press, 2012.
547:Evolution of mammalian molar teeth
338:the size of the carnivorous animal
186:), and their respective close-ups.
152:), and their respective close ups.
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862:Jones, Marc E.H. (August 2008).
705:10.1111/j.1469-7998.2007.00389.x
544:Osborn, Henry Fairfield (1907).
110:
101:
351:
653:Wortman, Jacob Lawson (1899).
445:family members descend from a
1:
975:Cope, Edward Drinker (1879).
823:Gunnell GF & Simmons NB,
393:Evolution of carnassial teeth
915:Kumiko Matsui; Yuri Kimura.
618:Prothero, Donald R. (2012).
488:but with a shorter, broader
154:Right: Carnassial teeth of
674:Northwestern Dental Journal
644:American Journal of Science
496:to predate and scavenge on
218:) and the recently extinct
120:Left: Carnassial teeth of
1156:
80:possess blade-like enamel
1070:10.1016/j.cub.2007.05.072
587:Columbia University Press
264:of Creodonta as a clade.
341:the extent to which the
981:The American Naturalist
589:, New York. p. 1.
224:Thylacinus cynocephalus
687:Wroe, Stephen (2007).
434:
385:
366:
249:
207:had carnassial teeth.
38:
872:Journal of Morphology
550:. Macmillan. p.
498:Pleistocene megafauna
400:
379:
364:
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33:
216:Sarcophilus harrisii
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52:and the first lower
1062:2007CBio...17.1146L
933:on 19 October 2023.
657:. n.p. p. 285.
577:Tedford, Richard H.
233:Thylacoleo carnifex
76:and the last upper
885:10.1002/jmor.10634
693:Journal of Zoology
655:"Collected Papers"
435:
386:
367:
250:
39:
961:978-0-8018-8695-9
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676:. pp. 13–15.
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596:978-0-231-13529-0
468:diet. During the
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466:hypercarnivorous
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494:megafaunal wolf
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212:Tasmanian devil
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525:antibiotics
417:), otter (
325:mastication
308:Clevosaurus
300:clevosaurid
289:Gobiconodon
283:Repenomamus
270:Necromantis
238:borhyaenids
228:Pleistocene
197:Mesonychids
46:carnivorans
42:Carnassials
1124:Categories
1034:2017-11-18
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557:20 January
531:References
257:Oxyaenidae
1140:Carnivory
1050:Curr Biol
781:2246/5744
605:502410693
521:abscesses
486:gray wolf
462:omnivores
443:Carnivora
427:Herpestes
409:), dog (
313:pycnodont
295:Jugulator
253:Creodonts
176:Herpestes
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1096:14039133
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866:Sphendon
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482:ecomorph
474:Holocene
472:– early
458:Panthera
407:Panthera
305:such as
172:mongoose
134:Panthera
78:premolar
64:Taxonomy
50:premolar
1058:Bibcode
504:Disease
431:Mustela
423:Procyon
184:Mustela
168:Procyon
164:raccoon
130:leopard
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480:wolf
454:Ursus
419:Lutra
415:Meles
411:Canis
403:Ursus
382:Canis
160:Lutra
156:otter
150:Meles
142:Canis
126:Ursus
74:molar
54:molar
1084:PMID
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890:PMID
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829:ISBN
750:ISBN
742:eds.
624:ISBN
601:OCLC
591:ISBN
559:2011
514:lion
510:wolf
437:The
343:diet
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203:nor
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