Was this guy right?

This is funny. I'd never heard these explanations before. The bump that runs lengthwise on the top of the head is called a sagittal crest, and it's common to quite a few mammals, mostly carnivores. It's supposedly connected to the muscles that help chew, so it is more prominent on animals that rely on strong biting or chewing (which doesn't make a lot of sense to me, as male sea lions have very prominent sagittal crests, but they swallow their meals whole). I think it is usually more prominent on males than females. Then there's the occipital crest or ridge (also called the occiput), the bump formed where the parietal bones join the occipital bone, across the top, back part of the skull. As far as I know, no animals "use" either of these crests for any purpose other than chewing or keeping their brains from leaking out.

OK, I know most of us are aware that Bassets were bred wth specific features in order to enable them to be good hunters. The ears for picking up the scent,the wrinkles for holding it and the large nose for smelling it. Even the height and loose skin is so that they could track their prey through the undergrowth and the white tip on the tail makes them easy to spot. Their loud bays also make them easier to follow but what puzzles me is ..why do they have that big bump(occuput???) on the top of their head.

The only explanation I have ever heard for this was from a guy I met in the park recently, who said the reason for it was[/b]

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The problem is most of the explaination for why things are they way they are are after the fact. That is the basset hound was not bred for thes specific traits but trather after it was bred the explaination was use to explain why these traits are important to the breed, and most are actual dubious at best

1. the white tail tip is not in the breed standard at all there are occasionally basset born without them and they are not faulted so can it really be that important. The reason for the white tail tip is not because it is important in the field but a matte of biology. That is when the Embryo is young the pigment cells move from custer around the spine to the other areas of the body. Area that get no pigment cell are those areas furthest from the custer the muzzle, frunt of the chest the feet and belly ass well as the tip of the tail. The urban ledgend is so much satisfying and simplier answer than the truth so it still persists.

2, There are many hunting dogs equally effective in the field with much smaller ears and skin flaps Many of the better field hounds have shorter ears and less wrinkles as well there is no indication that those traites actual enhance tracking ability, They more likely come from cross breeding with bloodhounds that was done to and more bone and mass not necessarly the other traits as well. It is also a myth that the original breeders of basset hounss were doing so to improve hunting ability read <a href="http://www.basset.net/balogh2.html" target="_blank">The Early History of the
Basset Hound in England, 1874-1921</a> and you will find early breeder were interest in improving the "look" of the dog not the function, In this case must attributes of the basset are not form follows function but rather Eplainantion of form as it relates to fucntion as a justification for the form. unfortunately most of these explainations are pattently false

3. One trait the does hold up is that dwarf breed in france and england like beagles and the various basset breeds were developed to developed to slow dogs doewn to aid in hunting on foot.