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Quantifying Saurian Tooth Complexity: Implications for Reconstructing the Diet of Extinct Amniotes Project ID: 00000C217 Public
49 Media · 47 Specimens · Creator: Melstrom, Keegan · Managed by: Keegan Melstrom

Recent paleontological discoveries reveal a dramatic range of tooth morphologies in extinct reptiles, with some dentitions rivaling the complexity of extant mammals. Many of these dental morphologies have no modern analogs, inhibiting detailed dietary and ecological reconstructions for ancient ecosystems. Living saurian reptiles exhibit a wide range of diets, from carnivores to strict herbivores. Previous research suggests that the tooth shape in some lizard clades correlates with diet, but this has not been tested using quantitative methods. In order to elucidate the diet of extinct heterodont reptiles, I investigated the correlation between phenotypic tooth complexity and diet in living reptiles by examining the entire dentary tooth row in over 80 specimens comprising all major dentigerous saurian clades. I quantified dental complexity using orientation patch count rotated (OPCR), which does not require the identification of homologous landmarks on each tooth and discriminates diet in living and extinct mammals, where OPCR values increase with the proportion of dietary plant matter. OPCR was calculated from high-resolution CT scans, and I standardized OPCR values by the total number of teeth to account for differences in tooth count across taxa. In living saurians, OPCR values for omnivores and herbivores are higher than those of carnivores. In contrast with extant mammals, there appears to be greater overlap in tooth complexity values across dietary groups because multicusped teeth characterize herbivores, omnivores, and insectivores, and because the herbivorous skinks have particularly simple teeth. Additionally, insectivorous lizards have dental complexities that overlap with omnivores. These results suggest reptilian tooth complexity is related to diet, similar to extinct and extant mammals.

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  ID Part Object Taxonomy Type Date Added Publication Status  
000012469 Dentary mvz:amphibian and reptile specimens:77092 Varanus varius Mesh 2016-05-07 Restricted Download  
000012467 Dentary mvz:amphibian and reptile specimens:68534 Varanus niloticus Mesh 2016-05-07 Restricted Download  
000012468 Dentary UCMP:V:137816 Varanus rudicollis Mesh 2016-05-07 Open Download  
000012466 Dentary UCMP:V:118912 Uromastyx sp. Mesh 2016-05-07 Open Download  
000012465 Lower jaws cas:herp:42076 Uma scoparia scoparia Mesh 2016-05-07 Restricted Download  
000012464 Dentary mvz:amphibian and reptile specimens:92987 Tupinambis rufescens Mesh 2016-05-07 Restricted Download  
000012463 Mandible mcz:R-24456 Tiliqua rugosa Mesh 2016-05-07 Open Download  
000012461 Lower jaws cas:herp:200862 Sceloporus magister Mesh 2016-05-07 Restricted Download  
000012462 Lower jaws mvz:amphibian and reptile specimens:92993 Teius teyou Mesh 2016-05-07 Restricted Download  
000012460 Dentary UCMP:V:137811 Sauromalus obesus Mesh 2016-05-07 Open Download  
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