Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Foreword
- 1 Rodentia: a model order?
- 2 A synopsis of rodent molecular phylogenetics, systematics and biogeography
- 3 Emerging perspectives on some Paleogene sciurognath rodents in Laurasia: the fossil record and its interpretation
- 4 Phylogeny and evolutionary history of hystricognathous rodents from the Old World during the Tertiary: new insights into the emergence of modern “phiomorph” families
- 5 The history of South American octodontoid rodents and its contribution to evolutionary generalisations
- 6 History, taxonomy and palaeobiology of giant fossil rodents (Hystricognathi, Dinomyidae)
- 7 Advances in integrative taxonomy and evolution of African murid rodents: how morphological trees hide the molecular forest
- 8 Themes and variation in sciurid evolution
- 9 Marmot evolution and global change in the past 10 million years
- 10 Grades and clades among rodents: the promise of geometric morphometrics
- 11 Biogeographic variations in wood mice: testing for the role of morphological variation as a line of least resistance to evolution
- 12 The oral apparatus of rodents: variations on the theme of a gnawing machine
- 13 The muscles of mastication in rodents and the function of the medial pterygoid
- 14 Functional morphology of rodent middle ears
- 15 Variations and anomalies in rodent teeth and their importance for testing computational models of development
- 16 The great variety of dental structures and dynamics in rodents: new insights into their ecological diversity
- 17 Convergent evolution of molar topography in Muroidea (Rodentia, Mammalia): connections between chewing movements and crown morphology
- 18 Developmental mechanisms in the evolution of phenotypic traits in rodent teeth
- 19 Diversity and evolution of femoral variation in Ctenohystrica
- 20 Morphological disparity of the postcranial skeleton in rodents and its implications for palaeobiological inferences: the case of the extinct Theridomyidae (Rodentia, Mammalia)
- Index
- References
15 - Variations and anomalies in rodent teeth and their importance for testing computational models of development
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 August 2015
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Foreword
- 1 Rodentia: a model order?
- 2 A synopsis of rodent molecular phylogenetics, systematics and biogeography
- 3 Emerging perspectives on some Paleogene sciurognath rodents in Laurasia: the fossil record and its interpretation
- 4 Phylogeny and evolutionary history of hystricognathous rodents from the Old World during the Tertiary: new insights into the emergence of modern “phiomorph” families
- 5 The history of South American octodontoid rodents and its contribution to evolutionary generalisations
- 6 History, taxonomy and palaeobiology of giant fossil rodents (Hystricognathi, Dinomyidae)
- 7 Advances in integrative taxonomy and evolution of African murid rodents: how morphological trees hide the molecular forest
- 8 Themes and variation in sciurid evolution
- 9 Marmot evolution and global change in the past 10 million years
- 10 Grades and clades among rodents: the promise of geometric morphometrics
- 11 Biogeographic variations in wood mice: testing for the role of morphological variation as a line of least resistance to evolution
- 12 The oral apparatus of rodents: variations on the theme of a gnawing machine
- 13 The muscles of mastication in rodents and the function of the medial pterygoid
- 14 Functional morphology of rodent middle ears
- 15 Variations and anomalies in rodent teeth and their importance for testing computational models of development
- 16 The great variety of dental structures and dynamics in rodents: new insights into their ecological diversity
- 17 Convergent evolution of molar topography in Muroidea (Rodentia, Mammalia): connections between chewing movements and crown morphology
- 18 Developmental mechanisms in the evolution of phenotypic traits in rodent teeth
- 19 Diversity and evolution of femoral variation in Ctenohystrica
- 20 Morphological disparity of the postcranial skeleton in rodents and its implications for palaeobiological inferences: the case of the extinct Theridomyidae (Rodentia, Mammalia)
- Index
- References
Summary
In rodents, the comparative anatomy of the dentition is a key criterion to determine the specific affiliation of extant and fossil specimens because development is usually well canalized. The number, arrangement and shape of teeth are usually set up during embryonic development, only to be further modified by wear or injury. Morphological variations and anomalies observed on some wild specimens can indicate modifications to standard dental development. Previous studies already showed that studying pathological specimens (‘monsters’) can be performed to better understand developmental constraints (see Alberch 1989). Here, we consider relatively mild pathologies such as modifications of dental formula or tooth shape, as well as intraspecific variations of the dentition, considering that they can also give some information on the development constraints. Dental development has long been studied (especially in mice, but also in rat, voles and guinea pigs; see, for example, Hunt and Paynter, 1963; Lester, 1969; Witter et al., 1996) and various authors proposed computational developmental models of the whole tooth-row proportions (see Van Valen, 1962; Osborn, 1978; Kavanagh et al., 2007) or the crown pattern (see Jernvall, 2000; Osborn, 2008). Morphological variations and anomalies challenge computational developmental models as they enlarge the range of developmentally possible morphologies. The study of variants can be considered as a test of the strength of models: a new shape should be reproduced by tuning parameters.
In this chapter, we first document some cases of number and shape dental anomalies. We then discuss the possible developmental and/or evolutionary origins of these anomalies. We then present new data on intraspecific variations on molar morphology performed on different rodent species. The variations observed on the occurrence of supplementary cusps are then used to test the robustness of development hypotheses concerning patterning of dental cusps, which are the basis of computational developmental models.
Occurrences of dental anomalies in rodents
Anomalies in number of teeth
Many cases of mammals with supernumerary or missing teeth (that failed to develop) have been reported in the literature, including rodent cases (presented in Table 15.1).
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Evolution of the RodentsAdvances in Phylogeny, Functional Morphology and Development, pp. 405 - 423Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2015
References
- 3
- Cited by