"Despite the repeated tendency of s to evolve s for hypercarnivory, a canid has yet to appear that is completely catlike, that is, without any post- s. This possible constraint on morphological evolution in canids is argued to have resulted, paradoxically, in increased flexibility over evolutionary time and a great potential for rapid diversification and clade survivorship. Finally, it is suggested that the iterative pattern of specialization of the lower molars for meat-slicing that is seen in all families of carnivores, past and present, is probably a result of intraspecific competition for food, perhaps among s. This intraspecific selective force is countered by competition among species, since there are limits on the number of hypercarnivorous species within a single community."
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People from Washington, D.C.Biologists from the United StatesPaleontologists from the United StatesPeople from VirginiaJohns Hopkins University alumni
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Blaire Van Valkenburgh
(October 13, 1952) is an American and professor of vertebrate biology at UCLA. She served for two academic years from 2008 to 2010 as president of the and was elected in 2022 a Fellow of the .
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