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Squamate egg tooth development revisited using three‐dimensional reconstructions of brown anole ( Anolis sagrei , Squamata, Dactyloidae) dentition
Author(s) -
Hermyt Mateusz,
Janiszewska Katarzyna,
Rupik Weronika
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of anatomy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.932
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1469-7580
pISSN - 0021-8782
DOI - 10.1111/joa.13166
Subject(s) - biology , dentition , anatomy , dental lamina , squamata , enamel paint , dentistry , zoology , pathology , medicine , paleontology , odontogenic
The egg tooth is a hatching adaptation, characteristic of all squamates. In brown anole embryos, the first tooth that starts differentiating is the egg tooth. It develops from a single tooth germ and, similar to the regular dentition of all the other vertebrates, the differentiating egg tooth of the brown anole passes through classic morphological and developmental stages named according to the shape of the dental epithelium: epithelial thickening, dental lamina, tooth bud, cap and bell stages. The differentiating egg tooth consists of three parts: the enamel organ, hard tissues and dental pulp. Shortly before hatching, the egg tooth connects with the premaxilla. Attachment tissue of the egg tooth does not undergo mineralization, which makes it different from the other teeth of most squamates. After hatching, odontoclasts are involved in resorption of the egg tooth's remains. This study shows that the brown anole egg tooth does not completely conform to previous reports describing iguanomorph egg teeth and reveals a need to investigate its development in the context of squamate phylogeny.