The Meaning of Mangabey Molars (And Premolars)

The postcanine teeth of mangabeys (members of Cercocebus and Lophocebus) have figured prominently in discussions about the relationship between hard-object feeding and dental form. Grey-cheeked mangabeys (Lophocebus albigena) and sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus atys) both have thickly enameled posterior teeth. Thick enamel in the former is argued to be response to fallback consumption of hard-object foods, whereas in the latter, this feature is thought to have evolved in response to routine consumption of hard-object foods year-round. Our recent analyses reveal aspects of dental form beyond thick enamel that render C. atys posterior teeth better suited to process hard-object foods and resist fracture than those of L. albigena. We argue that the different feeding regimes of these two mangabey species had different effects on the evolution of their posterior teeth. Here, we detail these differences within the context of the fallback food paradigm. These results may ultimately help us detect modes of hard-object feeding in the fossil record.