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Postcanine Teeth (postcanine + tooth)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Life Sciences75%

Selected Abstracts

Variation in dental wear and tooth loss among known-aged, older ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta): a comparison between wild and captive individuals

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 11 2010
Frank P. Cuozzo
Abstract Tooth wear is generally an age-related phenomenon, often assumed to occur at similar rates within populations of primates and other mammals, and has been suggested as a correlate of reduced offspring survival among wild lemurs. Few long-term wild studies have combined detailed study of primate behavior and ecology with dental analyses. Here, we present data on dental wear and tooth loss in older (>10 years old) wild and captive ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta). Among older ring-tailed lemurs at the Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve (BMSR), Madagascar (n=6), the percentage of severe dental wear and tooth loss ranges from 6 to 50%. Among these six individuals, the oldest (19 years old) exhibits the second lowest frequency of tooth loss (14%). The majority of captive lemurs at the Indianapolis Zoo (n=7) are older than the oldest BMSR lemur, yet display significantly less overall tooth wear for 19 of 36 tooth positions, with only two individuals exhibiting antemortem tooth loss. Among the captive lemurs, only one lemur (a nearly 29 year old male) has lost more than one tooth. This individual is only missing anterior teeth, in contrast to lemurs at BMSR, where the majority of lost teeth are postcanine teeth associated with processing specific fallback foods. Postcanine teeth also show significantly more overall wear at BMSR than in the captive sample. At BMSR, degree of severe wear and tooth loss varies in same aged, older individuals, likely reflecting differences in microhabitat, and thus the availability and use of different foods. This pattern becomes apparent before "old age," as seen in individuals as young as 7 years. Among the four "older" female lemurs at BMSR, severe wear and/or tooth loss do not predict offspring survival. Am. J. Primatol. 72:1026,1037, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

A NEW GENERALIZED PAUCITUBERCULATAN MARSUPIAL FROM THE OLIGOCENE OF BOLIVIA AND THE ORIGIN OF ,SHREW-LIKE' OPOSSUMS

PALAEONTOLOGY, Issue 5 2007
FRANCISCO J. GOIN
Abstract:, Insights into the origin of ,shrew-like' oposssums of South America are gained thanks to a new fossil from the Oligocene Salla Beds in Bolivia. The specimen described here consists of a partial rostrum, palate and postcanine teeth, and shows several generalized features (cranial and dental) in the context of the Paucituberculata. On this basis we recognize Evolestes hadrommatos gen. et sp. nov. In order to evaluate the affinities of the new taxon, we performed a phylogenetic analysis including representatives of the Caenolestidae, Pichipilus and allies (not regarded here as caenolestids), Palaeothentidae, and Abderitidae, with three outgroups. Evolestes is the basalmost ,caenolestoid', and provides clues to the morphological changes involved in the origin of caenolestids. [source]

The influence of masticatory loading on craniofacial morphology: A test case across technological transitions in the Ohio valley

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 2 2010
Carolina Paschetta
Abstract Masticatory loading is one of the main environmental stimuli that generate craniofacial variation among recent humans. Experimental studies on a wide variety of mammals, including those with retrognathic postcanine teeth, predict that responses to masticatory loading will be greater in the occlusal plane, the inferior rostrum, and regions associated with the attachments of the temporalis and masseter muscles. Here we test these experimentally-derived predictions on an extinct human population from the middle and upper Ohio valley that underwent a marked shift from hunting-gathering to extensive farming during the last 3,000 years and for which we have good archaeological evidence about diet and food processing technology. Geometric morphometric methods were used to detect and measure the putative effect of diet changes on cranial shape independent of size. Our results partially confirm only some of the experimental predictions. The effect of softer and/or less tough diets on craniofacial shape seem to be concentrated in the relative reduction of the temporal fossa and in a displacement of the attachment of the temporal muscle. However, there were few differences in craniofacial shape in regions closer to the occlusal plane. These results highlight the utility of exploring specific localized morphological shifts using a hierarchical model of craniofacial integration. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Variation in dental wear and tooth loss among known-aged, older ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta): a comparison between wild and captive individuals

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 11 2010
Frank P. Cuozzo
Abstract Tooth wear is generally an age-related phenomenon, often assumed to occur at similar rates within populations of primates and other mammals, and has been suggested as a correlate of reduced offspring survival among wild lemurs. Few long-term wild studies have combined detailed study of primate behavior and ecology with dental analyses. Here, we present data on dental wear and tooth loss in older (>10 years old) wild and captive ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta). Among older ring-tailed lemurs at the Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve (BMSR), Madagascar (n=6), the percentage of severe dental wear and tooth loss ranges from 6 to 50%. Among these six individuals, the oldest (19 years old) exhibits the second lowest frequency of tooth loss (14%). The majority of captive lemurs at the Indianapolis Zoo (n=7) are older than the oldest BMSR lemur, yet display significantly less overall tooth wear for 19 of 36 tooth positions, with only two individuals exhibiting antemortem tooth loss. Among the captive lemurs, only one lemur (a nearly 29 year old male) has lost more than one tooth. This individual is only missing anterior teeth, in contrast to lemurs at BMSR, where the majority of lost teeth are postcanine teeth associated with processing specific fallback foods. Postcanine teeth also show significantly more overall wear at BMSR than in the captive sample. At BMSR, degree of severe wear and tooth loss varies in same aged, older individuals, likely reflecting differences in microhabitat, and thus the availability and use of different foods. This pattern becomes apparent before "old age," as seen in individuals as young as 7 years. Among the four "older" female lemurs at BMSR, severe wear and/or tooth loss do not predict offspring survival. Am. J. Primatol. 72:1026,1037, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]