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Replacement tooth in mesosaurs and new data on dental microanatomy and microstructure
Thiago Carlisbino1, Brodsky Dantas Macedo de Farias1, Fernando Antonio Sedor2
1Programa de Pós-graduação em Geociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Anatomical Record (Hoboken, N.J. : 2007)
|April 6, 2024
Summary
Permian mesosaurs, early marine amniotes, possessed specialized teeth for aquatic predation. Their unique dentition, featuring ridges and reinforced anchorage, likely aided in prey capture, possibly with dietary shifts during growth.
Area of Science:
- Paleontology
- Vertebrate Zoology
- Marine Biology
Background:
- Mesosaurs represent the earliest amniotes adapted to marine life in the Permian Irati-Whitehill Sea.
- Their skeletal features indicate aquatic adaptations, with unique dentition playing a key role in feeding strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the dentition of mesosaurs from the Lower Permian Irati Formation of Brazil.
- To analyze the functional morphology of mesosaur teeth in relation to their marine habitat and feeding ecology.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of mesosaur specimens from the Lower Permian Irati Formation.
- Detailed examination of tooth morphology, including enamel ridges, dentine structure, and basal anchorage mechanisms.
- Investigation of tooth replacement patterns.
Main Results:
- Mesosaur teeth are slender, conical, with apicobasal enamel ridges, characteristic of aquatic amniotes.
- Dentine comprises orthodentine and globular dentine layers; plicidentine, cementum, and alveolar bone enhance tooth anchorage.
- Labio-vertical, alternate tooth replacement ensures continuous dentition, a plesiomorphic trait.
Conclusions:
- Mesosaur dentition was adapted for prey capture in a marine environment, not necessarily for piercing tough prey.
- An ontogenetic dietary shift, from smaller to larger prey with age, is suggested based on dental adaptations.
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