Enamel Microstructure in Cetacea: a Case Study in Evolutionary Loss of Complexity
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Enamel Microstructure in Cetacea: a Case Study in Evolutionary Loss of Complexity Alexander J. Werth 1
&
Carolina Loch 2 & R. Ewan Fordyce 3
# Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2019
Abstract Enamel microstructure of 34 species in eight odontocete families is described and categorized according to structural complexity (from no or prismless enamel to highly arranged enamel in decussating layers), then correlated with parameters of ecology, life history, and occlusal function. Overall, more complex dental structure in extant and extinct cetaceans is associated with smaller, more numerous teeth in taxa that bite or grasp smaller, harder prey with longer, narrower jaws and have more oral processing. Enamel complexity loosely correlates with mechanical properties, but measurement of compressive strength is complicated by the presence of cementum overlying or in place of crown enamel. Given the presence of Hunter-Schreger bands and other indices of high microstructural complexity in archaic cetaceans (with presumed plesiomorphic characters), the absence of complex enamel, as well as more generally of gross dental form, signals a loss of complexity in various cetacean lineages. Nonetheless, it is difficult to draw robust or reliable inferences regarding either cetacean phylogeny or dental function given the pattern of presumed loss of tooth complexity, and the confounding presence of numerous exceptions (taxa with complex teeth despite limited use, or with thin, weakly developed enamel and soft, simple teeth despite high occlusal function). Although retention of a complex feature implies its continued adaptive value, and thus selection for the underlying genetic and developmental bases for that complexity, loss of complexity can simply follow absence of function. Loss of complex traits presumably relates to accumulated mutations and economic efficiency, but unfolds with no distinct pattern of distribution. Keywords Whale . Dolphin . Tooth . Enamel . Evolution . Complexity
Introduction Dentition is the hallmark of crown-mammals. Relative to the teeth of other vertebrates, mammalian teeth possess remarkable complexity in gross form and microscopic structure. As has been recognized for centuries, mammalian taxa can be distinguished by their teeth, reflecting varied diet, life history, and other ecological parameters. The sophistication of mammalian dental morphology, with occluding cusps, basins, and shearing planes, and correspondingly elaborate masticatory * Alexander J. Werth [email protected] 1
Department of Biology, Hampden-Sydney College, Hampden-Sydney, VA 23943, USA
2
Sir John Walsh Research Institute, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
3
Department of Geology, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
patterns (Crompton and Hiiemae 1969; Bergqvist 2003; Hillson 2005; Ungar 2010, 2017), as well as equally intricate enamel (Koenigswald 2000; Lucas 2004; Guatelli-Steinberg 2016), has likely contributed to mammals’ success by enab
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