Primate dental function and evolution: longitudinal 3D tooth wear in wild baboons.

Area of Science:

• Primate paleontology
• Paleoecology
• Mammalian dental wear

Background:

• Tooth wear significantly impacts mammalian feeding efficiency, life history, and survival.
• Understanding tooth wear progression in wild mammal populations is crucial but challenging.
• Dental remains are vital for inferring diet and behavior in extinct primates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify occlusal tissue loss in wild baboon (Papio) premolars and molars over three years.
• To analyze wear patterns in relation to age, sex, and hybrid status in baboons.
• To establish comparative baselines for interpreting dental wear in fossil primates.

Main Methods:

• Utilized high-resolution 3D analysis to measure occlusal tissue loss in baboon upper premolars and molars (P3-M3).
• Sampled 70 wild baboons, including olive baboons (P. anubis) and olive-hamadryas hybrids (P. anubis × P. hamadryas).
• Calculated mean wear values, visualized tissue loss, and compared wear patterns across demographic groups.

Main Results:

• Molars exhibited faster tissue loss (0.13 mm³/mm²/year) than premolars (0.08 mm³/mm²/year).
• Wear patterns shifted from lingual to buccal cusps with increasing age, despite no age-related increase in wear rate.
• No significant differences in wear were observed based on sex or hybrid status, with minor exceptions in P3 wear for males.

Conclusions:

• Gradual tooth wear demonstrates adaptive significance in maintaining dental function throughout life.
• Findings provide a baseline for understanding dental wear in extinct primate species.
• This research enhances our ability to interpret diet and behavior from fossil dental evidence.