Do roost-excavating bats have stronger skulls?

Abstract

In addition to feeding, many vertebrates use their skulls for other functions that are highly relevant to fitness. One such function is roost excavation by the bat Lophostoma silvicolum. Males of this species use their canines to create cavities inside active termite nests, which are significantly harder than the prey they eat. Here we investigate whether the skull of L. silvicolum is specialized for roost excavation relative to the ecologically similar species Tonatia saurophila and Micronycteris hirsuta, which do not excavate roosts. We conducted a finite element analysis that simulated roost excavating and feeding behaviours. These analyses were informed by our observations of feeding and roost-excavating behaviours, bite force, and dissections of the cranial musculature of the three bat species. During the simulation of roost excavation (bilateral canine biting), our data indicate that most regions of the skull of L. silvicolum exhibit less stress than those of T. saurophila and M. hirsuta; however, the latter exhibited the lowest peak stress at the zygomatic arches. During loads that simulate feeding (bilateral molar biting), the three species exhibit similar stress levels. It is not clear whether L. silvicolum has a skull shape that is stronger under the loads imposed by excavation, but it does exhibit relatively higher bilateral canine bite forces that are generated via relatively larger temporalis muscles. Based on the muscle data, our study suggests that the feeding apparatus of mammals can exhibit performance and morphological adaptations to functions other than feeding. © 2010 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2011, 102, 1–10.