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Phsiology & Anatomy in veterinary and Wildlife Sciences

Phsiology & Anatomy in veterinary and Wildlife Sciences

Welcome to the SCAR working group website

Studies of Carnivore Anatomy and Radiation is a working group created by four researchers united by a shared interest in carnivoran mammals and their close relatives, each contributing complementary expertise to a broader understanding of their biology and evolution. By integrating the study of both living and extinct taxa, we aim to understand how anatomy has been shaped by ecology, functional demands and evolutionary history throughout the diversification of carnivoran mammals and close relatives.

Our work encompasses a broad range of disciplines, from 3D morphofunctional studies and ecological niche analyses to neuroscience. Through these different approaches, we investigate both the constraints that shape morphological evolution and the mechanisms responsible for the remarkable anatomical diversity observed across carnivorous mammals.

SCAR was conceived as a collaborative framework for bringing together diverse approaches to the study of carnivoran form and evolution. Through this website, we present our current work and research interests and welcome connections with colleagues working on related questions.

MEET THE TEAM

Narimane CHATAR (PhD)

Palaeontology and evolutionary morphology of fossil felids and relatives

Margot Michaud.png

Margot MICHAUD (PhD)

Comparative neuroanatomy and brain evolution

Davide TAMAGNINI (PhD)

Ecomorphology and functional adaptation

Melvin VANKELST (PhD student)

Dental morphology, function and evolution

Although we are based in different laboratories and institutions, our research is supported by the EDDy Lab, led by the University of Liège.

We are grateful for this support, which helps foster exchanges, collaborations and the development of joint research initiatives.

NEws & events

LATEST SCAR PUBLICATIONS

In this section, we highlight publications involving at least two members of the SCAR working group. For a complete list of each member’s publications, please visit our profile on the Team page or browse the Publications page.

Decoupling geometry and topography reveals contrasting ecomorphological signals in carnivoran carnassial teeth

Vankelst M., Fischer V., Michaud M., Tamagnini D., Pollock T. I., Meloro C., Tseng Z. J., & Chatar N.

The lower carnassial tooth (m1) is a key innovation underlying the ecological diversification of Carnivora. However, their exceptionally diverse phenotypes result from both functional adaptation and phylogenetic inertia which challenges ecomorphological inferences. We investigate patterns of morphological convergence in the carnassial teeth of 142 extant carnivoran species spanning all terrestrial families and major dietary strategies. We compare the performance of occlusal topographic metrics (Relief Index, Dirichlet Normal Energy, and Orientation Patch Count rotated) and high-density three-dimensional geometric morphometrics (HD3DGM) in distinguishing ecomorphological signal at high taxonomic level, a key element of large-scale diversity analyses. Our results show that HD3DGM recovers a stronger and more consistent dietary signal than topographic metrics, particularly across dissimilar morphologies and at higher taxonomic levels. Within omnivory, insectivory and frugivory, species sharing the same dietary strategies exhibit clear patterns consistent with morphological convergence in the geometric data, while it is only true for frugivory when using topographic metrics. We show that many-to-one topography behaviour weakens the quality of ecomorphological inference at higher taxonomic scales. Our results reframe the context in which each method is most appropriately applied.

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 293 (2076). https://doi.org/10.1098/RSPB.2026.0400

The rise of carnivoran mammals in Europe through the lens of body mass

Fischer V., Solé F., Le Verger K., Mennecart B., Vankelst M., Chatar N., Speijer R.P., Peigné S. & Smith T. (2026)

Carnivoran mammals (cats, dogs, bears, seals, etc.) and their kin radiated during the Palaeogene, among other carnivorous clades (hyaenodonts, mesonychians, and oxyaenodonts). This radiation has often been framed as a competition ultimately won by carnivorans, but the data supporting this hypothesis largely originate from North America. We derive body mass (BM) from dental measurements in European hyaenodonts, mesonychians, oxyaenodonts, and carnivoramorphans ranging from the latest Palaeocene to the end of the Oligocene (MP 6–30; 57.2–23.3 Ma) and compare those with North American data. We show that European assemblages tell a different story, with a marked increase of the disparity of carnivoramorphan BMs at and after the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum (MECO; 40 Ma), with no clear effect on hyaenodonts. The ‘Grande Coupure’ (Eocene–Oligocene transition, approx. 34–33.5 Ma) marks the onset of a progressive decrease in the mean BM of hyaenodonts, while carnivoramorphans continue their rise initiated around the MECO. The observed BM patterns therefore do not follow the expected double-wedge pattern of competitive replacement and are possibly best explained by climate change-induced biodiversity dynamics.

Biology Letters, 22(8), 20260319. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2026.0319

Performance trade-offs define a fundamental dental dichotomy in mammals

Chatar N., Vankelst M., Pérez-Ramos A., Pollock T. I., Tamagnini D., Michaud M., Raskin L. Y., & Tseng Z. J. (2026).

Teeth define mammalian evolution, and one of many adaptive dental breakthroughs in crown mammals is the tribosphenic molar: a tooth with a dual shearing-crushing function, often considered a key adaptation in crown mammals. However, we do not know how potential trade-offs between these antagonistic functions may influence the macroevolutionary outcomes of mammalian lineages. Here, we show that predatory mammals evolved dichotomized performance in their tribosphenic carnassial teeth, with slicing constrained to a narrow set of optimal phenotypes and crushing exhibiting redundant solutions. Less than 1% of predators evolved optimized shearing and crushing. The fundamental trade-off in functions of the tribosphenic architecture promoted divergent macroevolutionary specializations rather than functional duality. These results highlight how key innovations can drive early evolutionary success while simultaneously constraining subsequent diversification.

Science, 393(6808), 265–271. https://doi.org/10.1126/SCIENCE.AEE3453

Open access and digital morphology data in evolutionary biology: expanding frontiers of knowledge

De Leo N., Michaud M., Maiorano L., Meloro C., Chatar N., & Tamagnini D. (2026)

The recent integration of 3D imaging and digital methodologies has revolutionized evolutionary biology, offering unprecedented opportunities for analysing and sharing morphological data. However, the transition toward open access remains incomplete due to persistent technical, legal, and institutional barriers. Issues such as lack of standardization, massive file sizes, and unclear intellectual property rights continue to hinder data verification and reproducibility. These challenges have acquired new urgency with the rapid rise of machine learning and AI-based tools for automated segmentation, landmarking, and shape analysis, which require large, standardized, and openly accessible training datasets — making inaccessible 3D data not merely an inconvenience, but a source of systematic bias in the algorithms shaping the field’s future. This review synthesizes technical, legal, and behavioural perspectives on open data in digital morphology, building on prior work to address the specific challenges of the current AI era. By advocating for the adoption of FAIR principles, the use of persistent digital identifiers, and the implementation of digital watermarking, we offer recommendations for establishing minimum standards in data publication. Ultimately, a shift toward responsible data stewardship is essential to ensuring that digital morphological resources remain accessible, reproducible, and scientifically valuable for both human and computational users.

BMC Ecology and Evolution (Vol. 26, Number 1, pp. 45-). BioMed Central. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-026-02522-y

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