Zygophyseter

Abstract: Several extinct sperm whales (stem Physeteroidea) were recently proposed to differ markedly in their feeding ecology from the suction-feeding modern sperm whales Kogia and Physeter. Based on cranial, mandibular, and dental morphology, these Miocene forms were tentatively identified as macroraptorial feeders, able to consume proportionally large prey using their massive teeth and robust jaws. However, until now, no corroborating evidence for the use of teeth during predation was available. We report on a new specimen of the stem physeteroid Acrophyseter, from the late middle to early late Miocene of Peru, displaying unusual bony outgrowths along some of the upper alveoli. Considering their position and outer shape, these are identified as buccal maxillary exostoses. More developed along posterior teeth and in tight contact with the high portion of the dental root outside the bony alveoli, the exostoses are hypothesized to have developed during powerful bites; they may have worked as buttresses, strengthening the teeth when facing intense occlusal forces. These buccal exostoses further support a raptorial feeding technique for Acrophyseter and, indirectly, for other extinct sperm whales with a similar oral apparatus (Brygmophyseter, Livyatan, Zygophyseter). With a wide size range, these Miocene stem physeteroids were major marine macropredators, occupying ecological niches nowadays mostly taken by killer whales.

Abstract: Differing from the extant physeteroids, macroraptorial sperm whales are currently regarded as apex predators of the Miocene seas based on several morphofunctional observations. Here, we estimate the bite force of Zygophyseter varolai, a macroraptorial physeteroid from lower upper Miocene strata of the Pietra leccese formation (Apulia, Italy) using the finite element analysis (FEA). To explore multiple bite scenarios, we set four different load cases on a 3D model of the cranium obtained via digital photogrammetry, considering the temporalis and masseter muscles as jaw adductors. Our FEA simulations indicate that Z. varolai exerted an anterior bite force of more than 4000 N and a posterior bite force of more than 10000 N. These values are similar to those estimated for other marine predators known for their powerful bite. This suggests that Z. varolai might have fed upon medium-sized marine vertebrates like other odontocetes. Considering the significant difference observed between the anterior and posterior bite forces, Z. varolai likely fed via ‘grip-and-shear’ feeding, snapping the food items with an anterior bite and then cutting them with a powerful posterior bite. Other macroraptorial sperm whales such as the roughly coeval Acrophyseter from Peru likely employed the same feeding technique.