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The Effects Of Gape Angle And Bite Point On Bite Force In Bats, Elizabeth R. Dumont, Anthony Herrel

Biology Department Faculty Publication Series

Models of mammalian mastication predict that bite force is affected by both the degree of mouth opening (gape angle) and the point along the tooth row at which force is transferred to a food item (bite point). Despite the widespread use of these models in comparative analyses, experimental data documenting bite force in non-human mammals are extremely limited. The goal of this study is to document variation in non-stimulated bite force associated with change in gape angle and bite point in a broad range of species. We focus on plant-visiting bats because they exhibit a relatively primitive cranial morphology and …