The Fascinating Link Between Long Faces and Larger Mammals
The length of a mammal's face is often determined by its body size, according to a phenomenon called craniofacial evolutionary allometry (CREA). Larger mammals can "afford" to have longer faces, which provide advantages such as easier access to food or the ability to capture larger prey. However, exceptions to this pattern occur when there are significant changes in diet. Shorter faces are more efficient at biting hard, while longer faces are advantageous for reaching more leaves or fitting larger fangs. This new framework helps explain the diversity in face length across different mammalian groups.