Jaw length trades bite force against bite speed across carnivore species.

Evidence

Cats and hyenas each sacrifice jaw speed in favor of jaw strength, with squat faces and canine teeth migrating relatively closer to the hinge. Here it helps to think of a nutcracker, or a pair of pliers: the closer an object is placed to the hinge, the more powerful the closing force that can be applied. Wolves, on the other hand, have longer jaws than hyenas or cats. Their canines bite with less force, but what is lost in force they gain in speed. Their canine teeth are situated farther from the hinge of the jaw and, as a result, move faster when the jaw closes. — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 125 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Hyenas also hunt in packs, but their jaws are very different from those of wolves. Hyena canines are relatively short, and their molars have lost the “dual-purpose” functionality of their ancestors. The slicing edges of hyena molars are gone. Hyenas are bone crushers who feed primarily on marrow, and their teeth are wide and strong with rounded, dome-shaped caps. Their faces and jaws are squat, giving their teeth a huge mechanical advantage. It’s basic physics: the nearer an applied force is to the joint of a lever, the stronger it will be. Teeth on short jaws aren’t anchored very far from their hinges, resulting in slow speeds but powerful closing forces (contrast this with wolves, where canines positioned at the ends of long jaws snap shut faster, but without as much force). In hyenas, jaw-closing speed appears to have been traded for increased closing force. They have a tremendously powerful bite, and because of the shapes of their teeth, they use this bite for cracking bone rather than puncturing or slicing flesh. — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 75 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Jaw dimensions affect individual performance in two contexts: swallowing prey and catching prey in the first place. Larger jaws are definitely better for ingesting bigger and more diverse prey. But they are selected against due to the drag they incur as they’re pushed through the water. For many open-water predatory fish, natural selection for faster swimming speed acts in the opposite direction from selection for swallowing larger prey. Because the same fish must accomplish both tasks, the result is functional but unspectacular jaws and teeth, and modestly proportioned weapons. — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 95 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Hyena jaws trade closing speed for crushing power; Jaw shape trades off between bite force and bite speed — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 125; Hyena jaw geometry trades closing speed for bone-crushing force — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 75 (+2 more)

Related

• Jaw shape trades off between bite force and bite speed (similarity 0.95)
• Hyena jaws trade closing speed for crushing power (similarity 0.93)
• Hyena jaw geometry trades closing speed for bone-crushing force (similarity 0.92)
• Bigger fish jaws create drag that slows prey-catching speed. (similarity 0.89)
• Loss of pursuit hunting drives evolution toward heavier jaws and teeth (similarity 0.80)
• Cat canines are piercing weapons vulnerable to side torque during hunts (similarity 0.80)
• Mammals split teeth into specialized tools for each task (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Jaw shape trades off between bite force and bite speed #corroborates (0.95) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 125
• Hyena jaw geometry trades closing speed for bone-crushing force #exemplifies (0.90) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 75
• Bigger fish jaws create drag that slows prey-catching speed. #exemplifies (0.70) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 95