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

9306600作为美国动物学家学会年会的一部分，将于1993年12月27-30日在加利福尼亚州洛杉矶举行为期一天的题为《食兽动物的颅面适应》的专题讨论会，恳请凡·瓦尔肯布提供支助。摄食适应和行为是哺乳动物进化和生态学的基本方面，在灵长类和食草性蹄类哺乳动物中都得到了很好的研究。相比之下，食性哺乳动物(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，食肉动物包括多种哺乳动物，如食虫动物(如地鼠)、食肉动物(如猫)、食鱼动物(如食鱼蝙蝠)和杂食动物(如猪)。它们的大小和形状不一，从质量不到两克的地鼠，到超过500公斤的北极熊。尽管有这样的多样性，食兽哺乳动物由于捕获、捕杀和消费猎物的必要性而团结在一起。对于这些活动，颅骨和牙齿的解剖学特化在宏观和微观层面上都是明显的，包括骨骼和牙齿强度的增加，牙齿上突出的切割刀片，以及头骨结构的负重修改。在过去的十年里，得益于扫描电子显微镜和计算机地形学等新技术的应用，颅牙结构的研究加速并多样化。现在是时候将以前独立的研究人员聚集在一起，而不是综合迄今的工作，并评估当前和未来的研究方向。***

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. ***