Jaws

 Gray wolf on the left.  Spotted hyena on the right.  The top comment at the NatureIsFuckingLit subreddit is worth quoting in toto:

On the surface, it’s tempting to look at the robust, bone-crushing jaws of the spotted hyena and the longer, more slender jaws of the gray wolf and see it as nothing more than a clear-cut case of “better vs worse,” of “superior vs inferior,” and to a degree this outlook is understandable, as seen in other nature subreddits and forums. One of these animals has jaws capable of crushing a zebra’s femur into splinters while the other has jaws that look barely any more fearsome than the average dog. However, peeling back the layers, you find that the jaws of both spotted hyenas and wolves are perfectly designed for killing in their own way, representing some of the fiercest jaws on planet.

Starting with the hyena, it is clear from the outset how fearsome this animal’s jaws are, nothing short of being built like sledgehammers. Its short, robust skull and jaws maximize both durability and mechanical advantage whilst biting, while its strongly interlocking jaws joints and massive jaw muscle attachment sites allow of incredibly powerful bites that do not let go not matter what. However, the real piece de resistance are not the jaws themselves, but the massive premolars housed within them, which are large, conical and built like mallets, allowing spotted hyenas that pulverize bones with ease. With such jaws and teeth, working in concert with their powerful physique and absurdly powerful necks, hyenas are capable of extraordinary feats of predation, with solo spotted hyenas taking down prey as large as adult wildebeest on the regular, marking them as some of the deadliest jaws on the African continent…

Wolves, on the other hand, went a different route. Rather than developing jaws like sledgehammers, their’s are built like meat-cleavers. The jaws of wolves, though more powerful built than most dogs, are also more elongated and slender to increase the contact area of their bites. This is amplified by their loose jaw joints and smaller jaw muscle attachment sites, which, while weakening the wolf’s bite, increases its gape significantly, allowing it to open its jaws far wider most other predators can and bite onto a larger area of the prey. The real stars of the show, however, are its blade-like canine teeth which, unlike those of hyenas, are strongly curved and flattened at the sides, giving them a uniquely blade-like structure. This allows the canine teeth of wolves to carve grievous, hemorrhaging wounds into their prey with every bite, capable of bleeding a bull elk dry or cleave open its leg muscles to stop it dead in its tracks. With these jaws, wolves, despite the weaker strength of their jaws and overall very slight physique, are also capable of astounding feats of predation, able to kill prey as large as mature bull musk oxen and adult cow moose without the aid of a pack.

Indeed, all told, both spotted hyenas and wolves, despite the seeming weakness of the latter, have incredibly formidable jaws, with both being equally effective in their own way and ranking as some of the fiercest jaws on planet. (credit: Mophandel)