SILICEO, G., SALESA, M.J., ANTóN, M., PEIGNé, S., MORALES, J. 2017. Functional anatomy of the cervical region in the late Miocene amphicyonid Magericyon anceps (Carnivora, Amphicyonidae): implications for its feeding behaviour. Palaeontology, 60, 3, 329-347. DOI: 10.1111/pala.12286
Gema Siliceo, Manuel J. Salesa, Mauricio Antón, Stéphane Peigné, and Jorge Morales- Gema Siliceo - Departamento de Ciencias de la Vida Universidad de Alcalá Alcalá de Henares Spain (Email: gema.siliceo@uah.es)
- Gema Siliceo - Departamento de Paleobiología Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales‐CSIC Madrid Spain
- Manuel J. Salesa - Departamento de Paleobiología Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales‐CSIC Madrid Spain (Email: msalesa@fc.ul.pt)
- Manuel J. Salesa - Instituto Dom Luiz, Departamento de Geologia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa Lisboa Portugal
- Mauricio Antón - Departamento de Paleobiología Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales‐CSIC Madrid Spain
- Stéphane Peigné - CR2P – UMR 7207 CNRS Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Université Paris 6 Paris France
- Jorge Morales - Departamento de Paleobiología Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales‐CSIC Madrid Spain
- Issue published online: 26 April 2017
- Manuscript Accepted: 23 January 2017
- Manuscript Received: 14 July 2016
We describe the skull and neck morphology of the late Miocene amphicyonid Magericyon anceps, focusing on aspects related to functional anatomy. This species, recorded only from the Vallesian sites of Batallones‐1 and Batallones‐3 (Madrid, Spain), is the last known amphicyonid in the fossil record of Western Europe, with the Batallones populations being one of the best‐known of the family. The morphology of its skull and cervical vertebrae allows us to infer aspects of its associated musculature, such as muscle strength and range of movement. Magericyon anceps had well‐developed neck muscles, suited for providing the head with a high capacity for lateral and rotatory movements, as well as for playing an important role in the extension and stabilization of the head and neck, improving its efficiency in killing and consuming prey. Magericyon anceps shared its habitat with other large carnivorans, which would have strongly influenced its behaviour. Rapid killing and processing of prey would have been an advantage for avoiding kleptoparasitism by other large predators, as well as reducing consumption time, during which M. anceps would have been more vulnerable to attack from competitors.
Data for this study are available in the Dryad Digital Repository https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.5sf19 Wiley Online Library