Carnivore jaws illustrate the other half of this principle. Cats and hyenas each sacrifice jaw speed in favor of jaw strength, with squat faces and canine teeth migrating relatively closer to the hinge. Here it helps to think of a nutcracker, or a pair of pliers: the closer an object is placed to the hinge, the more powerful the closing force that can be applied. Wolves, on the other hand, have longer jaws than hyenas or cats. Their canines bite with less force, but what is lost in force they gain in speed. Their canine teeth are situated farther from the hinge of the jaw and, as a result, move faster when the jaw closes.

Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evoluti…, loc. 125