The effects of prey size on carnivore tooth mark morphologies on bone; the case study of Canis lupus signatus

Carnivore feeding behaviour is a valuable line of research of increasing value in taphonomic analyses. An interesting component of these studies lies in the differentiation of carnivore activity based on tooth marks left on bone. Among the methodological approaches available, a major protagonist in recent years has been the incorporation of hybrid geometric morphometric studies with artificially intelligent algorithms, reaching over 95% accuracy in some cases. In spite of this recent success, a number of methodological questions are still to be answered for wide scale application of these techniques into other applied fields of science. One of these questions lies in the possible variability induced by prey size on tooth mark morphologies. Here we compile data regarding these effects, using the Iberian wolf as a relevant case study in both contemporary and prehistoric European and North American ecology. The methodology employed opens new questions regarding carnivore tooth marks that should consider the effects of mastication biomechanics. While in most cases prey size is not a significant conditioning factor, caution is advised for future experimentation when considering small prey where some statistical noise may be present. Nevertheless, future experimentation into other carnivore case studies can be considered a valuable research goal.

食肉动物取食行为是埋藏学分析（taphonomic analyses）中愈发重要的研究方向。此类研究的核心议题之一，是通过骨骼表面留存的齿痕来区分不同食肉动物的活动痕迹。在现有研究方法体系中，近年来的主流技术路径之一是将混合几何形态测量学（hybrid geometric morphometric）研究与人工智能算法（artificially intelligent algorithms）相结合，部分应用场景的识别准确率已突破95%。尽管此类技术近期取得了显著进展，但要将其大规模推广至其他科学应用领域，仍有诸多方法学问题有待解答。其中一个关键问题是猎物体型对齿痕形态可能带来的变异性影响。本研究以伊比利亚狼（Iberian wolf）为典型案例，收集相关数据以探究该效应在近现代及史前欧洲与北美生态场景中的表现。本研究采用的方法为食肉动物齿痕研究提出了新的研究议题：后续相关研究应纳入咀嚼生物力学（mastication biomechanics）的影响因素。研究结果表明，多数情况下猎物体型并非显著的制约因素，但在未来针对小型猎物开展实验时，需警惕可能存在的统计噪声。此外，将此类方法拓展至其他食肉动物案例的后续实验，同样是极具价值的科研方向。