Divergent mechanisms for crushing shelled prey in parallel lineages of durophagous stingrays (Myliobatoidei)

Abstract

Durophagous vertebrates feed on shelled prey and share many morphological traits; in particular, high leverage jaws with robust jaw-closing muscles. Myliobatid stingrays are no exception, having reinforced jaw skeletons, large jaw adductor muscles, and with all species in the family consuming some combination of shelled prey. Myliobatid rays have a long evolutionary history (65–70 million years) and number over thirty species, yet despite similar performance demands given their diet ecology, exhibit considerable morphological diversity of the feeding apparatus. We examined how feeding performance changes in the bullnose ray, Myliobatis freminvillei over its ontogeny, and compared how these rays produce crushing bite forces relative to confamilial and co-occurring cownose rays (Rhinopterinae). Within the durophagous family Myliobatidae, rhinopterines are more generalist in their dietary preferences, feeding on small bivalves and infaunal crustaceans, whereas eagle rays (Aetobatinae) prey on gastropods and bivalves exclusively, while bullnose/bat rays (Myliobatinae) consume a size range of gastropods and hermit crabs. We found that bullnose rays show isometric changes in feeding performance over their ontogeny, relying on the high mechanical efficiency of their jaws to crush shelled prey throughout their ontogeny. This manner of generating high bite forces diverges from cownose rays and other durophagous elasmobranchs, which primarily rely on muscular hypertrophy to generate forceful bites. These two lineages evolved distinct means of dismantling hard prey, which further showcases how multiplicity of form can result in similar ecological function. These predators are frequently subsumed within a single ecological category, durophagy, which underestimates their diversity.