@article{deutsch_berger_martens_witt_smith_hartstone-rose_2024, title={Myological and osteological approaches to gape and bite force reconstruction in <i>Smilodon fatalis</i>}, volume={6}, ISSN={["1932-8494"]}, DOI={10.1002/ar.25529}, abstractNote={Abstract Masticatory gape and bite force are important behavioral and ecological variables. While much has been written about the highly derived masticatory anatomy of Smilodon fatalis , there remains a great deal of debate about their masticatory behaviors. To that end, we establish osteological proxies for masticatory adductor fascicle length (FL) based on extant felids and apply these along with previously validated techniques to S. fatalis to provide estimates of fascicle lengths, maximum osteological gapes, and bite force. While the best correlated FL proxies in extant felids do not predict particularly long fascicles, these proxies may be of value for less morphologically distinct felids. A slightly less well correlated proxy predicts a temporalis FL 15% longer than that of Panthera tigris . While angular maximum bony gape is significantly larger in S. fatalis than it is in extant felids, linear gape at the canine tip and carnassial notch were not significantly different from those of extant felids. Finally, we produce anatomical bite force estimates of 1283.74 N at the canine and 4671.41 N at the carnassial, which are similar in magnitude to estimates not of the largest felids but of the much smaller P. onca , with S. fatalis producing slightly less force at the canines and more at the carnassials. These estimates align with previous predictions that S. fatalis may have killed large prey with canine shearing bites produced, in part, by force contributions of the postcranial muscles.}, journal={ANATOMICAL RECORD-ADVANCES IN INTEGRATIVE ANATOMY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY}, author={Deutsch, Ashley R. and Berger, Arin and Martens, Lara L. and Witt, Benjamin R. and Smith, Rachel L. J. and Hartstone-Rose, Adam}, year={2024}, month={Jun} }
 @article{martens_brown_faillace_berger_smith_bertok_humphries_lassiter_hartstone-rose_2024, title={The Effects of Onychectomy (Declawing) on Forearm and Leg Myology in a Kinkajou (<i>Potos flavus</i>)}, volume={14}, ISSN={["2076-2615"]}, DOI={10.3390/ani14192774}, abstractNote={Recently, onychectomy, the “declaw” surgery in which all or part of the distal phalanges are removed, has been shown to have significant effects on the forearm muscles of felids. While this surgery should clearly affect the limb muscles (especially those that insert on the removed or modified bone), these effects have not been studied beyond felids or in the hindlimb. To that end, we herein evaluated the muscle architecture of a kinkajou (Potos flavus) that was declawed on all four of its limbs and compared its anatomy to that of intact specimens and the felid findings. As expected, some of the declawed kinkajou’s muscles were substantially different from those of the intact specimens, and as was seen in felids, its digital muscles appear to have been weaker. However, unlike in the felids, the declawed kinkajou had relatively larger forearm muscles. Also, contrary to expectation, the leg muscles of the declawed kinkajou were not substantially different, perhaps reflecting important differences in limb use. Future analyses should examine this anatomy in other declawed kinkajou specimens and also look at the effects of this surgery in other taxa, for instance, non-arboreal relatives of the kinkajou as well as other arboreal taxa.}, number={19}, journal={ANIMALS}, author={Martens, Lara L. and Brown, Reece A. and Faillace, Ana Carolina Lourenco and Berger, Arin and Smith, Rachel L. J. and Bertok, Kathryn and Humphries, Lauren and Lassiter, Angela and Hartstone-Rose, Adam}, year={2024}, month={Oct} }
 @article{martens_piersanti_berger_kida_deutsch_bertok_humphries_lassiter_hartstone-rose_2023, title={The Effects of Onychectomy (Declawing) on Antebrachial Myology across the Full Body Size Range of Exotic Species of Felidae}, volume={13}, ISSN={["2076-2615"]}, DOI={10.3390/ani13152462}, abstractNote={While people are familiar with the practice of declawing domestic cats, “onychectomy”, as it is also known, is also performed on non-domesticated species, including pantherines, to prolong their use for entertainment purposes. Although the surgery (the partial or complete removal of the distal phalanx) has clear osteological implications, its myological effects have never been studied. As the mass of an animal increases cubically as a product of its volume, while the areas of its paws only increase as a square, larger felids have higher foot pressures and, therefore, the surgery may have particularly substantial functional effects on larger cats. In this study, we evaluate the forearms of clawed and declawed non-domestic felid specimens that spanned the body size range of the whole family to evaluate the effects of onychectomy on muscle fiber architecture. We found that the deep digital flexors (the muscles most directly affected by onychectomy) of declawed felids are significantly lighter (~73%) and less powerful (46–66%) than those of non-declawed felids, while other muscles do not make up for these reductions. Thus, onychectomy has a substantial effect on the myological capabilities of cats, and because these deficiencies are not compensated for in biomechanically disadvantaged larger felids, it probably has even more functionally devastating consequences for these species.}, number={15}, journal={ANIMALS}, author={Martens, Lara L. and Piersanti, Sarah Jessica and Berger, Arin and Kida, Nicole A. and Deutsch, Ashley R. and Bertok, Kathryn and Humphries, Lauren and Lassiter, Angela and Hartstone-Rose, Adam}, year={2023}, month={Aug} }