Editing Canis (section)

==Dentition and biteforce==
[[File:Wolf cranium labelled.jpg|thumb|300px|Diagram of a wolf skull with key features labelled]]
[[File:Lupocranio.jpg|thumb|right|[[Eurasian wolf]] skull]]

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ [[Bite force quotient|Bite force]] adjusted for body weight in [[Newton (unit)|Newtons]] per kilogram<ref name=Christiansen2007/>
! scope="col" | Canid
! scope="col" | [[Carnassial]]
! scope="col" | [[Canine tooth|Canine]]  
|-
! scope="row" | Gray wolf
| 131.6
| 127.3
|-
! scope="row" | [[Dhole]]
| 130.7
| 132.0
|-
! scope="row" | [[African wild dog]]
| 127.7
| 131.1
|-
! scope="row" | [[Greenland dog]] and [[dingo]]
| 117.4
| 114.3
|-
! scope="row" | [[Coyote]]
| 107.2
| 98.9
|-
! scope="row" | [[Side-striped jackal]]
| 93.0
| 87.5
|-
! scope="row" | [[Golden jackal]]
| 89.6
| 87.7
|-
! scope="row" | [[Black-backed jackal]]
| 80.6
| 78.3
|-
|}

<!--Note: [[Dire wolf]] and [[Beringian wolf]] both link to here.-->
[[Dentition]] relates to the arrangement of teeth in the mouth, with the [[Dentition#Dental formula|dental notation]] for the upper-jaw teeth using the upper-case letters I to denote [[incisors]], C for [[Canine tooth|canines]], P for [[premolars]], and M for [[molars]], and the lower-case letters i, c, p and m to denote the [[Mandible|mandible teeth]]. Teeth are numbered using one side of the mouth and from the front of the mouth to the back. In [[carnivores]], the upper premolar P4 and the lower molar m1 form the [[carnassials]] that are used together in a scissor-like action to shear the muscle and tendon of prey.<ref name=wang2008/>{{rp|74}}

[[Canids]] use their premolars for cutting and crushing except for the upper fourth premolar P4 (the upper carnassial) that is only used for cutting. They use their molars for grinding except for the lower first molar m1 (the lower carnassial) that has evolved for both cutting and grinding depending on the candid's dietary adaptation. On the lower carnassial the [[trigonid]] is used for slicing and the [[talonid]] is used for grinding. The ratio between the trigonid and the talonid indicates a carnivore's dietary habits, with a larger trigonid indicating a [[hypercarnivore]] and a larger talonid indicating a more [[Omnivore|omnivorous]] diet.<ref name=sansalone2015/><ref name=cherin2013/> Because of its low variability, the length of the lower carnassial is used to provide an estimate of a carnivore's body size.<ref name=sansalone2015/>

A study of the estimated bite force at the canine teeth of a large sample of living and fossil mammalian predators, when adjusted for their body mass, found that for [[placental]] mammals the bite force at the canines (in [[Newton (unit)|Newtons]]/kilogram of body weight) was greatest in the extinct [[dire wolf]] (163), followed among the modern [[canids]] by the four hypercarnivores that often prey on animals larger than themselves: the African hunting dog (142), the gray wolf (136), the dhole (112), and the dingo (108). The bite force at the carnassials showed a similar trend to the canines. A predator's largest prey size is strongly influenced by its biomechanical limits.<ref name=wroe2005/>