Figueirido Borja, Tseng Zhijie Jack, Serrano-Alarcón Francisco J, Martín-Serra Alberto, Pastor Juan F
Departamento de Ecología y Geología de la Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Málaga, , Málaga 29071, Spain.
Biol Lett. 2014 Apr 9;10(4):20140196. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2014.0196. Print 2014.
The red (Ailurus fulgens) and giant (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) pandas are mammalian carnivores convergently adapted to a bamboo feeding diet. However, whereas Ailurus forages almost entirely on younger leaves, fruits and tender trunks, Ailuropoda relies more on trunks and stems. Such difference in foraging mode is considered a strategy for resource partitioning where they are sympatric. Here, we use finite-element analysis to test for mechanical differences and similarities in skull performance between Ailurus and Ailuropoda related to diet. Feeding simulations suggest that the two panda species have similar ranges of mechanical efficiency and strain energy profiles across the dentition, reflecting their durophagous diet. However, the stress distributions and peaks in the skulls of Ailurus and Ailuropoda are remarkably different for biting at all tooth locations. Although the skull of Ailuropoda is capable of resisting higher stresses than the skull of Ailurus, the latter is able to distribute stresses more evenly throughout the skull. These differences in skull biomechanics reflect their distinct bamboo feeding preferences. Ailurus uses repetitive chewing in an extended mastication to feed on soft leaves, and Ailuropoda exhibits shorter and more discrete periods of chomp-and-swallow feeding to break down hard bamboo trunks.
小熊猫（小熊猫属）和大熊猫（大熊猫属）都是哺乳动物食肉动物，它们趋同适应了以竹子为食的饮食习惯。然而，小熊猫几乎完全以较嫩的叶子、果实和嫩树干为食，而大熊猫则更多地依赖树干和茎。这种觅食方式的差异被认为是它们同域分布时资源分配的一种策略。在这里，我们使用有限元分析来测试小熊猫和大熊猫在与饮食相关的头骨性能方面的机械差异和相似性。进食模拟表明，这两种熊猫在整个牙列上的机械效率和应变能分布范围相似，这反映了它们的食硬食物的饮食习惯。然而，在所有牙齿位置咬合时，小熊猫和大熊猫头骨的应力分布和峰值存在显著差异。虽然大熊猫的头骨比小熊猫的头骨能够承受更高的应力，但小熊猫的头骨能够在整个头骨中更均匀地分布应力。头骨生物力学的这些差异反映了它们不同的竹子进食偏好。小熊猫通过长时间咀嚼中的重复咀嚼来进食柔软的叶子，而大熊猫则表现出较短且更离散的咬嚼和吞咽进食周期来分解坚硬的竹干。
