Symposium: Craniofacial Adaptations of Faunivorous Mammals to be held December 27-30, 1993, in Los Angeles, California

作为1993年12月27日至30日在加州洛杉矶举行的美国动物学家学会年会的一部分，要求支持为期一天的题为“动物性哺乳动物颅面适应性”的研讨会。喂养适应和行为是哺乳动物进化和生态学的基本方面，在灵长类动物和食草有蹄类哺乳动物中都得到了很好的研究。相比之下，食肉哺乳动物（以脊椎动物和无脊椎动物为食的物种）受到的关注相对较少。然而，动物性动物包括各种各样的哺乳动物，如食虫动物（如鼩鼱）、食肉动物（如猫）、食鱼动物（如食鱼的蝙蝠）和杂食动物（如猪）。它们的大小和形状各不相同，从体重不到2克的鼩鼱到体重超过500公斤的北极熊。尽管有这种多样性，食草哺乳动物是由捕捉、杀死和消耗猎物的必要性联系在一起的。这些活动的头骨和牙齿的解剖特化在宏观和微观水平上都是显而易见的，包括骨骼和牙齿强度的增加，牙齿上的切削刃的强化，以及头骨结构的负重改变。近十年来，得益于扫描电子显微镜和计算机地形图等新技术的应用，颅牙结构的研究得到了加速和多样化的发展。现在是时候把以前独立的研究人员聚集在一起，对迄今为止的工作进行综合，并对当前和未来的研究方向进行评估。＊＊＊

9306600 Van Valkenbugh Support is requested for a one-day symposium entitled Craniofacial Adaptations of Faunivorous Mammals to be held as part of the annual meeting of the American Society of Zoologists, December 27-30, 1993 in Los Angeles, California. Feeding adaptations and behavior are fundamental aspects of mammalian evolution and ecology and have been well studied in both primates and herbivorous hoofed mammals. In contrast, Faunivorous mammals (species that consume vertebrate and invertebrate prey) have received comparatively little attention. Yet, faunivores include a wide range of mammals, such as insectivores (e.g. shrews), carnivores (e.g., cats), piscivores (e.g., fish-eating bats), and omnivores (e.g., pigs). They range in size and shape from shrew with a mass of less than two grams, to polar bears, which exceed 500 kilograms. In spite of this diversity, faunivorous mammals are united by the necessities of capturing, killing, and consuming prey. Anatomical specializations of the skull and teeth for these activities are apparent at both macroscopic and microscopic levels and include increased skeletal and dental strength, accentuated cutting blades on the teeth, and load- bearing modifications of skull architecture. Over the past ten years, research in cranial and dental structure has accelerated and diversified, benefiting from the application of several new technologies such as scanning electron microscopy and computed topography. It is now time to bring together previously independent researchers for not the synthesis of work-to-date and an appraisal of current and future research directions. ***