The red panda’s skull is larger than similar carnivores in order to improve bite pressure.
In general, the skull size of the red panda is large compared with that of carnivores of similar body size, such as Procyonidae. Greater depth of skull may improve bite pressure at the level of the cheekteeth; particularly high values are found for zygomatic arch width, occipital height, condyle to m1 length and jaw cross-section area.
Relative brain size, measured from cranial capacity, is comparable with that of Procyonidae.
• Image | © Mathias Appel, Public Domain
• Sources | (Gregory, 1936; Roberts & Gittleman, 1984)
