z-logo
Premium
The significance of enamel thickness in the teeth of Alligator mississippiensis and its diversity among crocodyliforms
Author(s) -
Sellers K. C.,
Schmiegelow A. B.,
Holliday C. M.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of zoology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.915
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1469-7998
pISSN - 0952-8369
DOI - 10.1111/jzo.12707
Subject(s) - enamel paint , alligator , biology , vertebrate , anatomy , skull , tooth enamel , american alligator , dentistry , paleontology , medicine , biochemistry , gene
Enamel is the hardest tissue in the vertebrate body. Although variation in enamel microstructure is often linked with diet, the gross proportions of the tissues that compose vertebrate teeth remain relatively unexplored in reptiles. To investigate the patterns of enamel thickness in crocodyliforms, we used micro‐computed tomography scanning to evaluate enamel thickness in teeth of Alligator mississippiensis from rostral, intermediate and caudal locations in the tooth row from an ontogenetic range of animals. We also evaluated enamel thickness in the derived teeth of several extinct crocodyliforms with disparate craniodental morphologies. Our data show that enamel thickness scales isometrically with skull length. We also show that enamel is relatively thicker in caudal teeth than teeth in more rostral positions, concordant with the higher bite forces they experience during feeding. We compared our data with existing enamel thickness data reported from dinosaurs and mammalian taxa to find that archosaurs have markedly thinner enamel than most mammals. These findings serve as a basis for future investigations into the diversity and function of the proportions of dental tissues.

This content is not available in your region!

Continue researching here.

Having issues? You can contact us here