[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index][Subject Index][Author Index]
Re: A question about tooth enamel and drawing dietary conclusions
If the physical properties of the masticated
material change significantly then this should be
reflected in changes in the dental microwear. For
example, pits vs. scratches, and the lengths, depths,
and widths of these features.
See below for reviews on the subject, and also the
work of F. E. Grine, O. J. Oyen, N. Solounias, and P.
S. Ungar for more studies on mammalian taxa.
Teaford, M.F. (1988) A review of dental microwear and
diet in modern mammals. Scanning Microsc. 2(2):
1149-1166. (Reprinted in Scanning Microscopy of
Vertebrate Mineralized Tissues, edited by L.
Martin, A. Boyde, F. Grine, and S. Jones, Chicago:
Scanning Microscopy International, pp. 287-304.)
Teaford, M.F. (1991) Dental microwear what can it tell
us about diet and dental function? In Advances in
Dental Anthropology. M.A. Kelley and C.S. Larsen,
eds. New York: Alan R. Liss, pp. 341-356.
Teaford, M.F. (1994) Dental microwear and dental
function. Evol. Anthropol. 3: 17-30.
Teaford, M.F. (2004). Dental microwear analysis. In
Bioarchaeology of the Florida Gulf Coast. D.L.
Hutchinson, ed. Gainesville, Florida: University
Press of Florida, pp. 185-191
There are a few studies of microwear in dinosaurs,
including:
Barrett, P. M., 2001. Tooth wear and possible jaw
action of Scelidosaurus harrisonii Owen and a
review of feeding mechanisms in other thyreophoran
dinosaurs. In: Carpenter, K. (ed.). The Armored
Dinosaurs. Indiana University Press, Bloomington.
526 pp.
Fiorillo, A. R., 1991. Dental microwear on the teeth
of Camarasaurus and Diplodocus: implications for
sauropod palaeoecology. In: Kielan-Jaworowska, Z.,
Heintz, N., and Nakrem, H. A.(Eds.). Fifth
Symposium on Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems and
Biota, Extended Abstracts. Contributions from the
Paleontological Museum, University of Oslo 364: 23-
24.
Fiorillo, A. R., 1998. Dental microwear patterns of
the sauropod dinosaurs Camarasaurus and Diplodocus:
evidence for resource partitioning in the Late
Jurassic of North America. Historical Biology, 13:
1-16.
Goswami, A, Flynn, J. J., Ranivoharimanana, L, and
Wyss A. R., 2005. Dental microwear in Triassic
amniotes: Implication for paleoecology ad
masticatory mechanics. Journal of Vertebrate
Paleontology, 25: 320-329.
Norman, D. B., and Weishampel, D. B., 1985. Ornithopod
feeding mechanisms: their bearing on the evolution
of herbivory. American Naturalist, 126: 151-164.
Rybczynski, N., and Vickaryous, M. K., 2001. Evidence
of complex jaw movement in the Late Cretaceous
ankylosaurid Euoplocephalus tutus (Dinosauria:
Thyreophora). In: Carpenter, K. (ed.).The Armored
Dinosaurs. Indiana University Press, Bloomington.
526 pp.
Schubert, B.W. and Ungar P.S., 2005. Wear facets and
enamel spalling in tyrannosaurid dinosaurs. Acta
Palaeontologica Polonica, 50: 93?99.
Weishampel, D. B., 1984. The evolution of jaw
mechanisms in ornithopod dinosaurs. Advances in
Anatomy, Embryology, and Cell Biology, 87: 1-110.
And to toot my own premaxillary horn, I am
currently using microwear to examine the evolution of
diet and jaw mechanics in Marginocephalia for my
dissertation.
Varriale, F. J. 2004. Dental microwear in Triceratops
and Chasmosaurus and its implication for jaw
mechanics in Ceratopsidae. Journal of Vertebrate
Paleontology. 24(S3): 124A-125A.
All the best,
Frank
--- nooj <soixmoi@gmail.com> wrote:
> As I understand it, examining the thickness of the
> tooth enamel and
> the shape of the teeth tells scientists the likely
> diet of that
> animal. But what if the environment or food source
> changed so quickly
> that evolution shaping the teeth to suit the food
> source lags behind?
> Then we have a disparity between what the animal
> actually eats and
> what the teeth say they should eat.
>
> How do scientists work this problem out?
>
____________________________________________________________________________________
Need a quick answer? Get one in minutes from people who know.
Ask your question on www.Answers.yahoo.com