All the better to eat you with: a multidisciplinary investigation into feeding in mammalian carnivores

The survival and success of mammalian carnivores is determined by their ability to acquire and consume food. Carnivores have evolved a range of adaptations to help them feed effectively. By examining feeding behaviour, tooth morphology, and biomechanics in a range of carnivores, I show how dingoes and Tasmanian devils hunt and process food, that canine teeth have evolved to suit diets and killing behaviours, and how tooth wear determines if the conditions of wild feeding are successfully replicated in captivity. This thesis reveals the interactions between a predator’s anatomy and behaviour that shape the diversity of feeding ecologies in mammalian carnivores today.