Dataset Information

Occlusal enamel complexity in middle miocene to holocene equids (Equidae: Perissodactyla) of North America.

ABSTRACT: Four groups of equids, "Anchitheriinae," Merychippine-grade Equinae, Hipparionini, and Equini, coexisted in the middle Miocene, but only the Equini remains after 16 Myr of evolution and extinction. Each group is distinct in its occlusal enamel pattern. These patterns have been compared qualitatively but rarely quantitatively. The processes influencing the evolution of these occlusal patterns have not been thoroughly investigated with respect to phylogeny, tooth position, and climate through geologic time. We investigated Occlusal Enamel Index, a quantitative method for the analysis of the complexity of occlusal patterns. We used analyses of variance and an analysis of co-variance to test whether equid teeth increase resistive cutting area for food processing during mastication, as expressed in occlusal enamel complexity, in response to increased abrasion in their diet. Results suggest that occlusal enamel complexity was influenced by climate, phylogeny, and tooth position through time. Occlusal enamel complexity in middle Miocene to Modern horses increased as the animals experienced increased tooth abrasion and a cooling climate.

SUBMITTER: Famoso NA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3937353 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Occlusal enamel complexity in middle miocene to holocene equids (Equidae: Perissodactyla) of North America.

Famoso Nicholas A NA Davis Edward Byrd EB

PloS one 20140227 2

Four groups of equids, "Anchitheriinae," Merychippine-grade Equinae, Hipparionini, and Equini, coexisted in the middle Miocene, but only the Equini remains after 16 Myr of evolution and extinction. Each group is distinct in its occlusal enamel pattern. These patterns have been compared qualitatively but rarely quantitatively. The processes influencing the evolution of these occlusal patterns have not been thoroughly investigated with respect to phylogeny, tooth position, and climate through geol ...[more]

PMID: 24587267

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Project description:Enamel patterns on the occlusal surfaces of equid teeth are asserted to have tribal-level differences. The most notable example compares the Equini and Hipparionini, where Equini have higher crowned teeth with less enamel-band complexity and less total occlusal enamel than Hipparionini. Whereas previous work has successfully quantified differences in enamel band shape by dividing the length of enamel band by the square root of the occlusal surface area (Occlusal Enamel Index, OEI), it was clear that OEI only partially removes the effect of body size. Because enamel band length scales allometrically, body size still has an influence on OEI, with larger individuals having relatively longer enamel bands than smaller individuals. Fractal dimensionality (D) can be scaled to any level, so we have used it to quantify occlusal enamel complexity in a way that allows us to get at an accurate representation of the relationship between complexity and body size. To test the hypothesis of tribal-level complexity differences between Equini and Hipparionini, we digitally traced a sample of 98 teeth, one tooth per individual; 31 Hipparionini and 67 Equini. We restricted our sampling to the P3-M2 to reduce the effect of tooth position. After calculating the D of these teeth with the fractal box method which uses the number of boxes of various sizes to calculate the D of a line, we performed a t-test on the individual values of D for each specimen, comparing the means between the two tribes, and a phylogenetically informed generalized least squares regression (PGLS) for each tribe with occlusal surface area as the independent variable and D as the dependent variable. The slopes of both PGLS analyses were compared using a t-test to determine if the same linear relationship existed between the two tribes. The t-test between tribes was significant (p < 0.0001), suggesting different D populations for each lineage. The PGLS for Hipparionini was a positive but not significant (p = 0.4912) relationship between D and occlusal surface area, but the relationship for Equini was significantly negative (p = 0.0177). ? was 0 for both tests, indicating no important phylogenetic signal is present in the relationship between these two characters, thus the PGLS collapses down to a non-phylogenetic generalized least squares (GLS) model. The t-test comparing the slopes of the regressions was not significant, indicating that the two lineages could have the same relationship between D and occlusal surface area. Our results suggest that the two tribes have the same negative relationship between D and occlusal surface area but the Hipparionini are offset to higher values than the Equini. This offset reflects the divergence between the two lineages since their last common ancestor and may have constrained their ability to respond to environmental change over the Neogene, leading to the differential survival of the Equini.

Project description:The form of two hard tissues of the mammalian tooth, dentine and enamel, is the result of a combination of the phylogenetic inheritance of dental traits and the adaptive selection of these traits during evolution. Recent decades have been significant in unveiling developmental processes controlling tooth morphogenesis, dental variation and the origination of dental novelties. The enamel-dentine junction constitutes a precursor for the morphology of the outer enamel surface through growth of the enamel cap which may go along with the addition of original features. The relative contribution of these two tooth components to morphological variation and their respective response to natural selection is a major issue in paleoanthropology. This study will determine how much enamel morphology relies on the form of the enamel-dentine junction. The outer occlusal enamel surface and the enamel-dentine junction surface of 76 primate second upper molars are represented by polygonal meshes and investigated using tridimensional topometrical analysis. Quantitative criteria (elevation, inclination, orientation, curvature and occlusal patch count) are introduced to show that the enamel-dentine junction significantly constrains the topographical properties of the outer enamel surface. Our results show a significant correlation for elevation, orientation, inclination, curvature and occlusal complexity between the outer enamel surface and the enamel dentine junction for all studied primate taxa with the exception of four modern humans for curvature (p<0.05). Moreover, we show that, for all selected topometrical parameters apart from occlusal patch count, the recorded correlations significantly decrease along with enamel thickening in our sample. While preserving tooth integrity by providing resistance to wear and fractures, the variation of enamel thickness may modify the curvature present at the occlusal enamel surface in relation to enamel-dentine junction, potentially modifying dental functionalities such as blunt versus sharp dental tools. In terms of natural selection, there is a balance between increasing tooth resistance and maintaining efficient dental tools. In this sense the enamel cap acts as a functional buffer for the molar occlusal pattern. In primates, results suggest a primary emergence of dental novelties on the enamel-dentine junction and a secondary transposition of these novelties with no or minor modifications of dental functionalities by the enamel cap. Whereas enamel crenations have been reported by previous studies, our analysis do not support the presence of enamel tubercles without dentine relief nuclei. As is, the enamel cap is, at most, a secondary source of morphological novelty.

Dataset Information

Occlusal enamel complexity in middle miocene to holocene equids (Equidae: Perissodactyla) of North America.

Publications

Occlusal enamel complexity in middle miocene to holocene equids (Equidae: Perissodactyla) of North America.

Similar Datasets

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