1. A New Tooth Wear–Based Dietary Analysis Method for Proboscidea (Mammalia)
- Author
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Thadeus Obari, Laura K. Säilä, Aleksis Karme, Fredrick K. Manthi, Thure E. Cerling, Shadrack Ngene, Juha Saarinen, Kevin T. Uno, Mikael Fortelius, Emma Mbua, and Samuel Kasiki
- Subjects
Orthodontics ,Molar ,Ungulate ,Enamel paint ,Selenodont ,Paleontology ,15. Life on land ,Biology ,biology.organism_classification ,Mesowear ,Proboscidea ,stomatognathic diseases ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,stomatognathic system ,Tooth wear ,visual_art ,Dentin ,medicine ,visual_art.visual_art_medium - Abstract
Dietary analyses of herbivorous mammals are important for paleoecological reconstruction. Several methods applicable to fossil teeth have been developed lately. The mesowear method based on wear-induced occlusal shape and relief of ungulate molars has proven to be a robust method for dietary analysis. In its original form it can only be used for selenodont, plagiolophodont, and ectolophodont ungulate molars, but the principle can be extended to other kinds of tooth morphology. We introduce a new method of dietary analysis for proboscideans similar to the mesowear method, based on angle measurements from worn dentin valleys reflecting the relief of enamel ridges. The enamel ridges should be heavily worn when the abrasiveness of diet increases, resulting in lower occlusal relief and larger angles. For testing this, we compared the mesowear angles with stable carbon isotope values from dental enamel from populations of extant and fossil species from localities from Kenya and India. This enables us t...
- Published
- 2015
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