Ontogenetic transition from unicuspid to multicuspid oral dentition in a teleost fish: Astyanax mexicanus , the Mexican tetra (Ostariophysi: Characidae)

Teleost fishes display a remarkable diversity of adult dentitions; this diversity is all the more remarkable in light of the uniformity of first‐generation dentitions. Few studies have quantitatively documented the transition between generalized first‐generation dentitions and specialized adult dentitions in teleosts. We investigated this transition in the Mexican tetra, Astyanax mexicanus (Characidae), by measuring aspects of the dentition in an ontogenetic series of individuals from embryos to 160 days old, in addition to adults of unknown age. The first‐generation dentition and its immediate successors consist of small, unicuspid teeth that develop extraosseously. Multicuspid teeth first appear during the second tooth replacement event, and are derived from single tooth germs, rather than from the fusion of multiple conical tooth germs. We document that the transition from unicuspid to multicuspid teeth corresponds to a change in the location of developing tooth germs (from extraosseous to intraosseous) and in patterns of tooth replacement (from haphazard to simultaneous within a jaw quadrant). In addition, while the size of the largest teeth scales with positive allometry to fish size, the transition to multicuspid teeth is accompanied by an exceptionally large increase in tooth size. © 2005 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2005, 145 , 523–538.