New insights into the evolution of temnospondyls

Fortuny, Josep; Steyer, Jean‐Sébastien

doi:10.1007/s41513-019-00104-0

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 28 publications

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“…Attempted cannibalism or attack by another gorgonopsian are not excluded. A rhinesuchid attacker can be excluded as the embedded tooth does not display the typical labyrinthodont pattern of plicidentine (Fortuny and Steyer, 2019) encountered in the sectioned teeth of these amphibians (Figure 2). The tooth being carinated, the bite of a prey (such as an anomodont) defending itself appears unlikely.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The First Healed Bite Mark and Embedded Tooth in the Snout of a Middle Permian Gorgonopsian (Synapsida: Therapsida)

2021

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Despite their significance for paleobiological interpretations, bite marks have been rarely reported in non-mammalian therapsids (NMT). Here we describe, for the first time, the occurrence of a tooth embedded in the snout of a gorgonopsian. The tooth is surrounded by a bony callus, which demonstrates that the animal was still alive after the attack and healed. The identity of the attacker is unknown. Two hypotheses are discussed to account for this healed bite: failed predation (most likely by a biarmosuchian, therocephalian, or another gorgonopsian) and intraspecific social biting. Though predation cannot be ruled out, it has been hypothesized that gorgonopsians used their saber-like teeth for social signaling, which suggests that social biting may be the most likely scenario. The practice of social biting has long been hypothesized in NMT, but this is the first fossilized evidence of the behavior to be described.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%