Give the Phylogenetic Context for the Species Chosen for Comparison (Tiger and Cat Skull)
Lion is a carnivorous mammal, implying that lions fall under the mammal species. The scientific name of a lion is Panthera leo, and it is one of the big five animals and a member of the cat family (Manuel et al., 2020). Lions were one of the most widespread mammal species in the world. Lions had distinct and unique species and populations in Eurasia, Africa, and America. Lions are believed to have descended from a common ancestor, Proailurus Lemanensis. Proailurus Lemanensis is a terminology that means the first cat believed to have lived on earth 25 million years ago (Manuel et al., 2020). Lions’ closest relatives are jaguars, tigers, and leopards. Their extinct ancestors include the American lion known as Panthera atrox and the cave lion known as Panthera fossilis. Data collected by scientists shows that the genome sequence of lions shows the history of evolution and extinct lion species. The remaining species of lions currently occupy Sub-Saharan Africa. Other species, such as the Asiatic lions, dominate the Kathiawar Peninsula of Gujarat State in India. The DNA sequencing of lions shows that the modern share an ancestor 500,000 years ago.
Like lions, a cat is also a natural carnivore and still falls under the mammal species. Cat’s scientific name is Felis catus. The DNA sequencing of the cat shows that all domestic cats descended from the Middle Eastern wildcat Felis sylvestris (O’Brien & Johnson, 2018). Cats existed in the old world from different places such as South Africa, Spain, and Mongolia. However, different subspecies of cats lived in specific places. Ornata that dwelled in Central Asia, F.s. bieti in China, and F.s. cafra dwelled in Southern Africa (O’Brien & Johnson, 2018). The species of cats that have been domesticated are small cats, with wild cats living in the jungle. The evolution of the cats shows that they migrated to different continents, especially in Asia, North America, and Africa. The study of ancient cat DNA from different parts of the world shows that cats were domesticated to man 10,000 to 12,000 years ago.
Phylogenetic Tree
The Homology of the Bones of the Skull between Lion Skull and Cat Skull
A lion has a unique skull with many bones, with similarities and differences between a lion’s and a cat’s skull. Lion is the most dangerous carnivorous animal, referred to as the king of the jungle. Lion has strong jaw bones for clamping their prey, while the cat’s jaw bones are not strong because cats feed on cooked food or rodents. Lion hunts big animals such as buffaloes and wild beasts, and killing these animals requires strength hence having a stronger jaw bone. Lion’s skull has stronger canines than a cat’s. It is because lions struggle with their prey; killing them is not easy. Therefore, strong canines must pierce through the flesh and kill their prey. The occipital and sphenoid bones in the lion’s skull are bigger than the cat’s skull. The lion and cat skulls possess two jaws: the upper and the lower jaw. Lion’s skull has foramina holes which are the conduits for the passage of blood vessels that supply blood to the head. A cat’s skull also has the foramina because it contains some critical tissues in the head that help the system’s function (O’Brien & Johnson, 2018). The skulls of a lion and a cat contain the eye socket features used for old eyes, the olfactory, and the optical signals. However, the differences in the bones of the skulls of the two species are designed uniquely for the nature of their prey. The lion has strong and spaced teeth, which is essential for ensuring that meat does not stick to the teeth.
Find and Describe Bones (and Teeth) with the Greatest Difference between the Species.
There are many differences between the cat’s and lion’s teeth. The canines of a lion’s skull grow to approximately 5-7 centimeters long, while the cat’s canine teeth grow from 1-3 centimeters. This difference in the canine teeth is because the lion’s skull is bigger than the cat’s skull. A lion’s canines are stronger than a cat’s, and this is an adaptation for survival. The canines in both cats and lions are used for one purpose: killing and tearing the meat. Both lions and cats do not have grinding surfaces. Lions have incredibly strong jawbones due to the nature of the prey they feed on. The lion’s skull has stronger jaw bones, enabling it to subdue its prey. A full-growth lion has 30 teeth, and a cat has the same number of teeth.
Interpret and Suggest Hypotheses to Explain the Primary (At Least Three) Differences Observed. These Differences May Have Adaptive or Phylogenetic Explanations, and Therefore, Analysis Should Consider Both Possibilities
The cat’s teeth also comprise spaces between them, and cats do not have a grinding space. The cat’s teeth have spaces just like the teeth of a lion to ensure easy chewing of meat. The spaces between teeth in a cat and a lion also play a significant role in ensuring that once the carnassial teeth have pierced the prey, they cannot escape. Carnassial teeth are very important as they help in the killing of prey easily and effectively. A cat has needle-like canines that help it kill its prey and act as a self-defense mechanism. The lion also has sharp long, carnassial teeth that help in the killing of their prey. The lion’s skull has a space between the canines and the back teeth known as the diastema. The diastema helps the lion in killing its prey and easily slices bones from its prey. The diastema helps in ensuring easy penetration of the carnassial teeth during the killing of the prey.
The lion’s skull has strong bones that help hold the strong teeth and powerful jaws. Lions have strong jaws than cats. The jaws of the lion are held by very strong bony ridges and muscles that help the jaws move up and down while chewing their food. The jaws of the lion are strong to support the strong canines and the carnassial teeth that help kill their prey (Greco et al., 2021). The lion’s teeth have a special adaptation in that the molars and premolars have no grinding space to ensure that meat does not stick between the teeth. The teeth are space for easy chewing and grinding of bones easily. Therefore, during chewing, the jaws of the lion and the cat only move up and down, not side by side. The skull of the cat is somehow elongated. The skull of the cat’s shape is designed uniquely to ensure that it holds the brain and other essential tissues for survival (Stanton et al., 2020). Cat skull comprises relatively stronger jaw bone that helps in the hunting of prey, including rodents and mice (Li et al., 2019). Domestic cats do not require strong jaws like lions due to the nature of the lion. A lion is the king of the jungle; it depends on killing its prey, unlike cats, which can consume an already dead animal or cooked meat.
The lion’s skull has very sharp incisors in the upper and lower jaws. The lion has scissors-like carnassial teeth of approximately 7 centimeters. They function as scissors and help in the slicing of meat into small pieces that can be swallowed easily. The carnassial teeth have a major purpose both in the lion’s and cat’s skull. The carnassial teeth make the lion very dangerous, and this makes it the most feared carnivorous animal (Li et al., 2019). To conclude, the phylogenetic contexts in lion and cat skulls have major differences and similarities that show their adaptations of the animals in living in their natural habitats and being able to survive. The lion’s and cat’s teeth are adapted to their environment and according to the nature of their prey. The lion survives in the jungle where there are other dangerous animals, such as the leopard, and this is due to the adaptations. The lions also feed on other carnivorous animals, and this shows that a lion is a strong animal because killing a carnivorous animal is not easy. The cat’s teeth help in adapting to the domestic environment.
References
Greco, I., Chizzola, M., Meloro, C., Swanepoel, L., Tamagnini, D., & Dalerum, F. (2021). Similarities between lions and sympatric carnivores in diel activity, size, and morphology. Hystrix: the Italian Journal of Mammalogy, 32(2).
Manuel, M., Barnett, R., Sandoval-Velasco, M., Yamaguchi, N., Garrett Vieira, F., Zepeda Mendoza, M. L., … & Gilbert, M. T. P. (2020). The evolutionary history of extinct and living lions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(20), 10927-10934.
Stanton, D. W., Alberti, F., Plotnikov, V., Androsov, S., Grigoriev, S., Fedorov, S., … & Dalén, L. (2020). Early Pleistocene origin and extensive intra-species diversity of the extinct cave lion. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 12621.
Li, G., Figueiró, H. V., Eizirik, E., & Murphy, W. J. (2019). Recombination-aware phylogenomics reveals the structured genomic landscape of hybridizing cat species. Molecular biology and evolution, 36(10), 2111-2126.
O’Brien, S. J., & Johnson, W. E. (2018). The evolution of cats. Scientific American, 297(1), 68-75.
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