From dogs to seals to cats, members of the mammalian order Carnivora can vary greatly from one species to another. But for the most part, their skulls all tend to take on some variant of just a few shapes-a pattern scientists have long attributed to shared diets. New research led by the American Museum of Natural History and the University at Buffalo reveals that the evolution of skull shape in this group is actually much more complex and is influenced by nondietary factors. The study is published today in the journal Science Advances.