Estimating Body Mass of Extinct and Extant Carnivorous Mammals Using Skull Mechanics and Feeding Ecology

Estimating body mass of extinct carnivorous mammals is a central challenge in paleobiology, particularly for species known from fragmentary fossils. Traditional approaches, including allometric scaling and volumetric reconstructions, often yield broad ranges or rely on modern analogs that may not reflect extinct ecological and morphological diversity. Here, I present a mechanistic, semi-empirical model that integrates skull/body ratio, bite efficiency, and ecological feeding behavior to predict mass. Validated on 20 modern and 15 prehistoric carnivorous mammals, the model achieves deviations typically within ±10% of observed or literature-estimated masses. This approach provides a transparent, reproducible, and flexible tool for paleobiologists and educators.