The ontogeny of bite-force performance in American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)

Journal of Zoology

Volumn 260, Issue 3, 2003, Pages 317-327

  Erickson, Gregory M ^a   Lappin, A Kristopher ^b   Vliet, Kent A ^c  

^a FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^c University of Florida ^*  (United States)

Author keywords

Alligator mississippiensis; Biomechanics; Bite force; Crocodylia; Ecomorphology; Scaling

Indexed keywords

BIOMECHANICS; CROCODILIAN; ECOMORPHOLOGY; FEEDING; ONTOGENY;

ALLIGATOR MISSISSIPPIENSIS; ALLIGATORINAE; AMPHIBIA; ANIMALIA; CROCODYLIDAE (ALL CROCODILES); REPTILIA; VERTEBRATA;

EID: 0038785888     PISSN: 09528369     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0952836903003819     Document Type: Article

References (63)

1. Andrews, C. & Bertram, J. E. (1997). Mechanical work as a determinant of prey-handling behavior in the Tokay gecko (Gecko gecko). Phys. Zool. 70: 193-201.
2. Binder, W. J. & Van Valkenburgh, B. (2000). Development of bite strength and feeding behavior in juvenile spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta). J. Zool. (Lond.) 252: 273-283.
3. Bocquetin, J. C., de Souza Filho, J. P., Buffetaut, E. & Negri, F. R. (1991). Nova interpretaao do genero Purussaurus (Crocodylia, Alligatoridae) An. XI Congresso Bras. Paleontol. 427-438.
4. Brochu, C. A. (1999). Phylogenetics, taxonomy, and historical biogeography of Alligatoroidea. J. Vertebr. Paleontol. Mem. 6 Suppl. 19: 9-100.
5. Busbey, A. B. III (1989). Form and function of the feeding apparatus of Alligator mississippiensis. J. Morphol. 202: 99-127.
6. Busbey, A. B. (1994). The structural consequences of skull flattening in crocodilians. In Functional morphology in vertebrate paleontology: 173-192. Thomason, J. J. (Ed.). Cambridge: University of Cambridge Press.
7. Calder, W. A. III (1984). Size, function, and life history. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
8. Chabreck, R. H. (1971). The food and feeding habits of alligators from fresh and saline environments in Louisiana. Proc. Annu. Conf. Southeast. Assoc. Game Fish Comm. 25: 117-124.
9. Cleuren, J., Aerts, P. & De Vree, F. (1995). Bite and joint force analysis in Caiman crocodilus. Belg. J. Zool. 125: 79-94.
10. Cleuren, J. & De Vree, F. (1992). Kinematics of the jaw and hyolingual apparatus during feeding in Caiman crocodilus. J. Morphol. 212: 141-154.
11. Cleuren, J. & De Vree, F. (2000). Feeding in crocodilians. In Feeding: form, function, and evolution in tetrapod vertebrates: 337-358. Schwenk, K. (Ed.). San Diego: Academic Press.
12. Cott, H. B. (1961). Scientific results of an inquiry into the ecology and economic status of the Nile crocodile (Crocodilus niloticus) in Uganda and Northern Rhodesia. Trans. Zool. Soc. Lond. 29: 211-365.
13. Currey, J. D. (1984). The mechanical adaptations of bones. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
14. Daniel, W. J. T. & McHenry, C. (2001). Bite force to skull stress correlation - modelling the skull of Alligator mississippiensis. In Crocodilian biology and evolution: 135-143. Grigg, G. C., Seebacher, F. & Franklin, C. E. (Eds). Chipping Norton, NSW: Surrey Beatty.
15. Dechow, P. C. & Carlson, D. S. (1983). A method of bite force measurement in primates. J. Biomech. 16: 797-802.
16. Delaney, M. F. & Abercrombie, C. L. (1986). American alligator food habits in northcentral Florida. J. Wildl. Manage. 50: 348-353.
17. Dodson, P. (1975). Functional and ecological significance of relative growth in Alligator. J. Zool. (Lond.) 175: 315-355.
18. Edmund, A. G. (1962). Sequence and rate of tooth replacement in the Crocodilia. Roy. Ont. Mus. Zool. Paleontol. Contrib. 56: 1-90.
19. Erickson, G. M. (1996a). Toothlessness in American alligators, Alligator mississippiensis. Copeia 1996: 739-743.
20. Erickson, G. M. (1996b). Daily deposition of incremental lines in Alligator dentine and the assessment of tooth replacement rates using incremental line counts. J. Morphol. 226: 189-194.
21. Erickson, G. M. (2001). The bite of Allosaurus. Nature (Lond.) 409: 987-988.
22. Erickson, G. M. & Brochu, C. A. (1999). How the terror crocodile grew so big. Nature (Lond.) 398: 205-206.
23. Erickson, G. M., Van Kirk, S. D., Su, J., Levenston, M. E., Caler, W. E. & Carter, D. R. (1996). Bite force estimation for Tyrannosaurus rex from tooth-marked bones. Nature (Lond.) 382: 706-708.
24. Estes, R. D. (1991). The behavioral guide to African mammals. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
25. Fogarty, M. J. & Albury J. D. (1968). Late summer foods of young alligators in Florida. Proc. Annu. Conf. Southeast. Assoc. Game Fish Comm. 21: 220-222.
26. Giles, L. W. & Childs, V. L. (1949). Alligator management on the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge. J. Wildl. Manage. 13: 16-28.
27. Grenard, S. (1991). Handbook of alligators and crocodiles. Malabar: Krieger.
28. Guggisberg, C. A. W. (1972). Crocodiles: their natural history, folklore, and conservation. Harrisburg: Stackpole.
29. Hall, P. M. (1985). Brachiocephalic growth and dental anomalies in the New Guinea crocodile. J. Herpetol. 19: 300-303.
30. Head, J. J. (2001). Systematics and body size of the gigantic, enigmatic crocodyloid Rhamphosuchus crassidens, and the faunal history of Siwalik Group (Miocene) crocodylians. J. Vertebr. Paleontol. Abst. 21: 59A.
31. Herrel, A., De Grauw, E. & Lemos-Espinal, J. A. (2001). Head shape and bite performance in xenosaurid lizards. J. exp. Zool. 290: 101-107.
32. Herrel, A., Spithoven, L., Van Damme, R. & De Vree, F. (1999). Sexual dimorphism of head size in Gallotia galloti: testing the niche divergence hypothesis by functional analyses. Funct. Ecol. 13: 289-297.
33. Herrel, A., Van Damme, R. & De Vree, F. (1996). Sexual dimorphism of head size in Podarcis hispanica atrata: testing the dietary divergence hypothesis by bite force analysis. Neth. J. Zool. 46: 253-262.
34. Herrel, A., Van Damme, R., Vanhooydonck, B. & De Vree, F. (2001). The implications of bite performance for diet in two species of lacertid lizards. Can. J. Zool. 79: 662-670.
35. Hillson, S. (1986). Teeth (Cambridge manuals in archaeology). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
36. Iordansky, N. N. (1963). Some functional peculiarities of crocodile skull. Nauchn. Dokl. Vyssh. Shk. Biol. Nauki 3: 42-46.
37. Iordansky, N. N. (1973). The skull of Crocodilia. In Biology of the Reptilia 4: 201-262. Gans, C. & Parsons, T. S. (Eds). London: Academic Press.
38. Joanen, T. & McNease, L. (1975). Notes on the reproductive biology and captive propagation of the American alligator. Proc. Annu. Conf. Southeast. Assoc. Game Fish Comm. 29: 407-415.
39. Joanen, T. & McNease, L. (1980). Reproductive biology of the American alligator in southwest Louisiana. In Reproductive biology and diseases of captive reptiles: 153-159. Murphy, J. B. & Collins, J. T. (Eds). Athens: Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles.
40. Kellogg, R. (1929). The habits and economic importance of alligators. Tech. Bull. USDA 147: 1-36.
41. King, F. W. & Burke, R. L. (1989). Crocodilians, tuatara, and turtle species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Washington, DC: Association of Systematic Collections.
42. Kruuk, H. (1972). The spotted hyena: a study of predation and social behavior. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
43. Lucas, P. W. & Luke, D. A. (1984). Chewing it over-basic principles of food breakdown. In Food acquisition and processing in primates: 283-302. Chivers, D. J., Wood, B. A. & Bilsborough A. (Eds). New York: Plenum Press.
44. McIlhenny, E. A. (1935). The alligator's life history. Boston: Christopher Publishing House.
45. Monteiro, L. R. (1997). Allometric growth and functional integration in the skull of the black caiman Melanosuchus niger (Crocodylia: Alligatoridae). A jackknife approach. Rev. Bras. Biol. 57: 31-37.
46. Monteiro, L. R. & Lessa, L. G. (2000). Comparative analysis of cranial suture complexity in the genus Caiman (Crocodylia, Alligatoridae). Rev. Bras. Biol. 60: 689-694.
47. Mook, C. C. (1921). Individual and age variations in skulls of recent Crocodilia. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 44: 51-66.
48. Neill, W. T. (1971). The last of the ruling reptiles: alligators, crocodiles, and their kin. New York: Columbia University Press.
49. Peters, R. H. (1983). The ecological implications of body size. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
50. Pooley, A. C. (1989). Food and feeding habits. In Crocodiles and alligators: 76-91. Ross, C. A. (Ed.). New York: Facts on File.
51. Popov, E. P. (1968). Introduction to mechanics of solids. Englewood Cliffs NJ: Prentice Hall.
52. Rayfield, E. J., Norman, D. B., Horner, C. C., Horner, J. R., Smith, P. M., Thomason, J. J. & Upchurch, P. (2001). Cranial design and function in a large theropod dinosaur. Nature (Lond.) 409: 1033-1037.
53. Reiss, M. J. (1989). The allometry of growth and reproduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
54. Romer, A. S. (1956). Osteology of the reptiles. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
55. Schmidt-Nielsen, K. (1984). Scaling: why is animal size so important? Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
56. Schwenk, K. (2000). Feeding: form, function, and evolution in tetrapod vertebrates. San Diego: Academic Press.
57. Sinclair, A. G. & Alexander, R. M. (1987). Estimates of forces exerted by the jaw muscles of some reptiles. J. Zool. (Lond.) 213: 107-115.
58. Snodgrass, J. M. & Gilbert, P. W. (1967). A shark bite meter. In Sharks, skates, and rays: 331-337. Gilbert, P. W., Mathewson, R. F. & Rall, D. P. (Eds). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
59. Strom, D. & Holm, S. (1992). Bite force development, metabolic and circulatory response to electrical stimulation in the canine and porcine masseter muscles. Arch. Oral Biol. 37: 997-1006.
60. Thomason, J. J. (1991). Cranial strength in relation to estimated biting forces in some mammals. Can. J. Zool. 69: 2326-2333.
61. Valentine, J. M., Walther, J. R., McCartney, R. M. & Ivey, L. M. (1972). Alligator diets on the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana. J. Wildl. Manage. 36: 804-815.
62. Wainwright, P. C. & Reilly, S. M. (Eds) (1994). Ecological morphology: integrative organismal biology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
63. Woodward, A. R., White, J. H. & Linda, S. B. J. (1995). Maximum size of the alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). J. Herpetol. 29: 507-513.