Data files and R code supporting 'The land-to-water transition impacts brain shape in caniform carnivorans' (Kirkwood et al., 2026)

This archive contains all data, metadata, and R scripts supporting “The land-to-water transition impacts brain shape in caniform carnivorans” (Kirkwood et al., 2025). This study investigates endocranial shape in caniform (“dog-like”) carnivorans in relation to phylogeny, allometry, and locomotor habitat, to evaluate their relative importance in shaping the mammalian brain. Using high-density 3D geometric morphometrics, principal component analyses, and phylogenetic comparative methods, we examine 100 virtual endocasts representing 73 caniform taxa, including all nine extant families. Our findings indicate that the land-to-water transition has a significant impact on brain shape across caniforms, whereby semiaquatic taxa tend to exhibit expanded cerebra alongside reduced paleocortices and olfactory bulbs.

本归档文件包含支撑论文《犬型食肉目动物从陆生到水生的转变对脑形态的影响》（Kirkwood等，2025）的全部数据、元数据及R语言脚本。本研究围绕系统发育、异速生长与运动生境，探究犬型（"类犬"）食肉目动物的颅内形态，以评估各因素在塑造哺乳动物脑部形态中的相对重要性。研究采用高密度三维几何形态测量法（3D geometric morphometrics）、主成分分析（principal component analyses）及系统发育比较方法（phylogenetic comparative methods），对涵盖全部9个现存科的73个犬型类群的100个虚拟颅内模（virtual endocasts）开展分析。研究结果表明，陆生向水生的转变对犬型类动物的脑形态具有显著影响：半水生类群往往伴随大脑扩张，同时旧皮层与嗅球出现萎缩。