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Abstract ObjectivesMaintaining effective and efficient occlusal morphology presents adaptive challenges for mammals, particularly because mastication produces interactions with foods and other materials that alters the geometry of occlusal surfaces through macrowear and/or catastrophic failure (i.e. “chipping”). Altered occlusal morphologies are often less effective for masticating materials of given diet—but not always—some species exhibit dental sculpting, meaning their dentitions are set up to harness macrowear to hone their occlusal surfaces into more effective morphologies (i.e. secondary morphologies). Here we show that dental sculpting is present in the folivorousPresbytis rubicundaof Borneo. MethodsThirty‐one undamaged lower second molars ofP.rubicundaexhibiting various stages of macroscopic wear were micro‐CT scanned and processed into digital surfaces. The surfaces were measured for convex Dirichlet normal energy (vDNE, a measure of surface sharpness), and degree of surface wear. Regression analyses compared surface sharpness with several measures of wear to test for the presence and magnitude of dental sculpting. ResultsPositive correlations between the wear proxies and vDNE reveal thatP.rubicundawear in such a way as to become sharper, and therefore more effective chewing surfaces by exposing enamel‐dentine junctions on their occlusal surfaces and then honing these junctions into sharpened edges. Compared to another primate folivore in which increasing surface sharpness with macrowear has been demonstrated (i.e.,Alouatta palliata), the worn surfaces are similarly sharp, but the dental sculpting process appears to be different. DiscussionThe results presented here suggest that not only do some primates exhibit dental sculpting and the attendant secondary morphology, but that there appear to be multiple different morphological configurations that can achieve this result.P.rubicundahas thicker enamel and a more stereotyped wear pattern thanA.palliata, although both show positive correlations of occlusal surface sharpness (vDNE) with various wear proxies. These findings shed light on the varied approaches for the maintenance of effective and efficient occlusal surfaces in primates.
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How mangabey molar form differs under routine vs. fallback hard-object feeding regimes
BackgroundComponents of diet known as fallback foods are argued to be critical in shaping primate dental anatomy. Such foods of low(er) nutritional quality are often non-preferred, mechanically challenging resources that species resort to during ecological crunch periods. An oft-cited example of the importance of dietary fallbacks in shaping primate anatomy is the grey-cheeked mangabeyLophocebus albigena. This species relies upon hard seeds only when softer, preferred resources are not available, a fact which has been linked to its thick dental enamel. Another mangabey species with thick enamel, the sooty mangabeyCercocebus atys, processes a mechanically challenging food year-round. That the two mangabey species are both thickly-enameled suggests that both fallback and routine consumption of hard foods are associated with the same anatomical feature, complicating interpretations of thick enamel in the fossil record. We anticipated that aspects of enamel other than its thickness might differ betweenCercocebus atysandLophocebus albigena.We hypothesized that to function adequately under a dietary regime of routine hard-object feeding, the molars ofCercocebus atyswould be more fracture and wear resistant than those ofLophocebus albigena. MethodsHere we investigated critical fracture loads, nanomechanical properties of enamel, and enamel decussation inCercocebus atysandLophocebus albigena.Molars ofCercopithecus, a genus not associated with hard-object feeding, were included for comparison. Critical loads were estimated using measurements from 2D µCT slices of upper and lower molars. Nanomechanical properties (by nanoindentation) and decussation of enamel prisms (by SEM-imaging) in trigon basins of one upper second molar per taxon were compared. ResultsProtocone and protoconid critical fracture loads were significantly greater inCercocebus atysthanLophocebus albigenaand greater in both than inCercopithecus. Elastic modulus, hardness, and elasticity index in most regions of the crown were greater inCercocebus atysthan in the other two taxa, with the greatest difference in the outer enamel. All taxa had decussated enamel, but that ofCercocebus atysuniquely exhibited a bundle of transversely oriented prisms cervical to the radial enamel. Quantitative comparison of in-plane and out-of-plane prism angles suggests that decussation in trigon basin enamel is more complex inCercocebus atysthan it is in eitherLophocebus albigenaorCercopithecus cephus. These findings suggest thatCercocebus atysmolars are more fracture and wear resistant than those ofLophocebus albigenaandCercopithecus. Recognition of these differences betweenCercocebus atysandLophocebus albigenamolars sharpens our understanding of associations between hard-object feeding and dental anatomy under conditions of routine vs. fallback hard-object feeding and provides a basis for dietary inference in fossil primates, including hominins.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1945008
- PAR ID:
- 10491953
- Publisher / Repository:
- PeerJ
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- PeerJ
- Volume:
- 11
- ISSN:
- 2167-8359
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- e16534
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.16534
