Fig. 2.

Schematic representation of the search strategy for carnivoran encephalization allometries. (A) Hypothetical body size and brain volume data for a set of taxa are given. There is a clear, if noisy, allometric relationship between the variables. (B) A single allometry is fit through the variables. This represents the simplest possible hypothesis relating the scaling of brain volume to body mass for any set of taxa. (C) A more complicated hypothesis is proposed, with 3 allometries proposed for distinct groups. Here it is assumed that the sets of taxa are proposed relative to a phylogenetic hypothesis. Note that the estimated slopes for 2 of the allometries (thin and dashed lines) are very similar to one another. (D) A more parsimonious hypothesis is proposed where the slopes for 2 allometries are defined as equal to one another, the 2 allometries differing only in a phase shift of their intercepts.