Skip to Content

Pampush et al. Atelidae Adaptive Dental Topography Dynamics Project ID: 00000C509 Public
36 Media · 36 Specimens · Managed by: James Pampush

Primates are generally characterized by low-crowned, brachydont molars relative to many other groups of mammals. This conservative architecture may create special challenges for maintaining dental functionality in the case of a diet requiring proficient shearing ability (e.g, folivory). One recent hypothesis—the ‘enamel sculpting hypothesis’—suggests that such primates express dentition that functionally harnesses macrowear in maintaining occlusal sharpness. We examined the relationships between four dental topography metrics (DNE=Dirichlet Normal Energy, OPCR=Orientation Patch Count Rotated, RFI=Relief Index, and OR=Occlusal Relief) against macrowear (as measured with DER=Dentine Exposure Ratio) in lower first molars of Ateles and Alouatta—two closely related platyrrhines with distinct diets (Alouatta=folivore, Ateles=frugivore). We find support for the enamel sculpting hypothesis, in that DNE increases with macrowear in the folivorous Alouatta but not in the frugivorous Ateles. Multiple contradictions between OPCR and the other variables suggest this metric is a poor reflection of the molar form-function relationship in these primates. Distributions of relief measures (RFI and OR) confound expectations and prior observations, in that Ateles shows higher values than Alouatta, since these measures are thought to be correlated with dental shearing ability. We discuss the role Ateles’ relatively thicker enamel caps may play in the distributions of these metrics.

View results as:
List Gallery
List of media items in this team
  ID Part Object Taxonomy Type Date Added Publication Status  
000051069 Mandibular first molar USNM:MAMM:USNM 292195 Alouatta pigra Mesh 2018-06-22 Open Download  
000051070 Mandibular first molar USNM:MAMM:USNM 292196 Alouatta pigra Mesh 2018-06-22 Open Download  
000051083 Mandibular first molar USNM:MAMM:USNM 336201 Ateles geoffroyi ornatus Mesh 2018-06-22 Open Download  
000051061 Mandibular first molar USNM:MAMM:USNM 244873 Alouatta pigra Mesh 2018-06-22 Open Download  
000051077 Mandibular first molar USNM:MAMM:USNM 284949 Ateles geoffroyi ornatus Mesh 2018-06-22 Open Download  
000051085 Mandibular first molar USNM:MAMM:USNM 337703 Ateles geoffroyi geoffroyi Mesh 2018-06-22 Open Download  
000051084 Mandibular first molar USNM:MAMM:USNM 337694 Ateles geoffroyi geoffroyi Mesh 2018-06-22 Open Download  
000051087 Mandibular first molar USNM:MAMM:USNM 337704 Ateles geoffroyi geoffroyi Mesh 2018-06-22 Open Download  
000051088 Mandibular first molar USNM:MAMM:USNM 545854 Ateles chamek Mesh 2018-06-22 Open Download  
000051074 Mandibular first molar USNM:MAMM:USNM 276657 Ateles geoffroyi vellerosus Mesh 2018-06-22 Open Download  
Number of results to display per page
Showing 1 - 10 of 36