Ecomorphological associations of feeding habits in hypercarnivores

The classification scheme for Carnivora put forth by Van Valkenburgh (2007) is frequently used as a guideline for feeding ecology throughout the history of the Order. However, the categorization system used is too broad and may lead to species being classified into incorrect ecomorphs. Further, many ecomorphological studies rely on linear measurements, which fail to capture the full change in skull shape across species. We analyzed 7 hypercarnivorous species using geometric morphometric techniques to assess its effectiveness in conjunction with ecomorphological analyses, and partial least squares analysis to test the adequacy of Van Valkenburgh's classification system. We found a surprising amount of shape variation throughout the wolf-like hypercarnivores, with some species appearing more similar to those within the other categories. Morphological differences were also observed among the bone eating hyenids. Our analyses suggest that Van Valkenburgh's hypercarnivore classifications are in need of revision. We suggest a system that subdivides the wolf-like ecomorph into several, more distinct categories.