Dental microwear patterns of extant and extinct Muridae (Rodentia, Mammalia): ecological implications

Rodrigues, Helder Gomes; Garcia, Géraldine; Viriot, Laurent

doi:10.1007/s00114-008-0501-x

Cited by 65 publications

(92 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Dental microwear patterns were investigated by using transmitted light stereomicroscopy with a protocol adapted to the small dentition of rodents 45 . This method permits reconstruction of the last diet items ingested by an animal before death 46,47 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Roles of dental development and adaptation in rodent evolution

et al. 2013

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In paleontology, many changes affecting morphology, such as tooth shape in mammals, are interpreted as ecological adaptations that reflect important selective events. Despite continuing studies, the identification of the genetic bases and key ecological drivers of specific mammalian dental morphologies remains elusive. Here we focus on the genetic and functional bases of stephanodonty, a pattern characterized by longitudinal crests on molars that arose in parallel during the diversification of murine rodents. We find that overexpression of Eda or Edar is sufficient to produce the longitudinal crests defining stephanodonty in transgenic laboratory mice. Whereas our dental microwear analyses show that stephanodonty likely represents an adaptation to highly fibrous diet, the initial and parallel appearance of stephanodonty may have been facilitated by developmental processes, without being necessarily under positive selection. This study demonstrates how combining development and function can help to evaluate adaptive scenarios in the evolution of new morphologies.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Roles of dental development and adaptation in rodent evolution

et al. 2013

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“…10 But they do raise the question: Is there a consistent relationship between environmental-grit level and microwear? While it is clear that soil quartz levels can play an important role in tooth wear 13,14 , studies of mammals living in different settings today have failed to find that grit obscures diet-related microwear signals 15 .…”

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confidence: 99%

Dental microwear differences between eastern and southern African fossil bovids and hominins

Ungar¹,

Scott²,

Steininger³

2016

S. Afr. J. Sci.

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Dental microwear has proven to be a valuable tool for reconstructing diets of fossil vertebrates. However, recent studies have suggested that the pattern of microscopic scratches and pits on teeth may be more reflective of environmental grit than of food preferences. Could differences in dental microwear between early hominins, for example, therefore be a result of dust level rather than of diet? We investigated this possibility using a palaeocommunity approach. We compared microwear texture differences between eastern and southern African Hominini, along with Plio-Pleistocene specimens representing two tribes of bovids, Alcelaphini and Antilopini, from the same deposits as the early hominins. If exogenous grit swamps diet signals, we would expect community-wide microwear patterns separating samples by region. Results indicate that each of the three tribes shows a different pattern of variation of microwear textures between eastern and southern Africa. These results imply that differences in microwear reflect diet rather than grit load, and that microwear can provide valuable information not just about environmental dust level, but about food preferences of fossil vertebrates.

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“…However, the results should be treated as preliminary, as microwear has not been studied in lagomorphs previously, thus the comparisons are limited to rodents and ungulates. The striae on the grinding surfaces are generally shallow and delicate compared to those found in most ungulates (Solounias and Semprebon 2002) and some rodent groups, such as Caviidae or Muridae (Townsend and Croft 2008;Gomes Rodrigues et al 2009).…”

Section: Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…From an environmental standpoint, we can narrow the di− etary preferences of Eurolagus fontannesi to leafs, grass, and fruits, and test the preliminary dental microwear data against results known for a few rodent and ungulate groups (Solounias and Semprebon 2002;Meng et al 2003;Nelson et al 2005;Gomes Rodrigues et al 2009). Such a comparison, based on the ratio of the average number of pits versus scratches, places Eurolagus fontannesi in the morphospace of a typical browser close to fruit−leaf and fruit−seed groups in the Townsend and Croft (2008) classification for the living Caviidae (Fig.…”

Section: Paleobiological Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

New Data on the Miocene Stem LagomorphEurolagus fontannesi, and Its Northernmost Record

Fostowicz‐Frelik¹,

Nadachowski²,

Kowalewska-Groszkowska³

2012

Acta Palaeontologica Polonica

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Groszkowska, M. 2012. New data on the Miocene stem lagomorph Eurolagus fontannesi, and its northernmost record. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 57 (1): 1-20.We describe new dental material of Eurolagus fontannesi from the Late Miocene (Early Vallesian, MN 9) lignite beds of Bełchatów A (central Poland), which is the northernmost occurrence of this lagomorph. This material considerably in− creases the sample size of this rare genus and species. We review the systematic position of Eurolagus and argue that it is not an ochotonid, but represents a terminal taxon of an independently evolved stem lineage of Lagomorpha. The enamel of the molars, here studied for the first time, exhibits a relatively thin decussating external and a radial internal layer, and in general resembles the palaeolagine lagomorphs (Palaeolagus) rather than the archaeolagine leporids (Hypolagus) or advanced ochotonids (Ochotona). The dental wear features of Eurolagus fontannesi indicate that the species was a sylvan mixed−feeder. This agrees with the Bełchatów A paleoenvironment, which is best approximated as the kind of mixed mesophytic forest now encountered in the Caucasus, Iran, and India. The extinction of Eurolagus was probably related to the noticeable faunal change following the increased cooling of the European climate during the Late Miocene. The first indicator of this event can be observed in Bełchatów A, marked by the immigration of Microtocricetus and the absence of Neocometes.

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Dental microwear patterns of extant and extinct Muridae (Rodentia, Mammalia): ecological implications

Cited by 65 publications

References 24 publications

Roles of dental development and adaptation in rodent evolution

Roles of dental development and adaptation in rodent evolution

Dental microwear differences between eastern and southern African fossil bovids and hominins

New Data on the Miocene Stem LagomorphEurolagus fontannesi, and Its Northernmost Record

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