Figure 17. Finite element results of two head-strike simulations in the giraffe (UCMZ 1976.33).

Von Mises stresses in Giraffa camelopardalis, with the cranium in dorsal A, B) and oblique (C, D) views. A′ is a ventral view of a coronally-sectioned cranium (at the plane in D), looking up into the endocranial cavity. A, A′, and C depict vertical impacts through the median ossicone and frontal sinus. Note comparatively high stresses at the posterior muscular constraint and substantial stress in the endocranial cavity compared with Ovibos (Figure 11 D), yet more localized stress than in Antilocapra (Figure 13). Peak stresses are lower when the force is spread over all three ossicones (B and D), suggesting that such impacts are more favorable to the animals.