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Testing a developmental model in the fossil record: molar proportions in South American ungulates

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 April 2016

Laura A. B. Wilson ,
Richard H. Madden ,
Richard F. Kay  and
Marcelo R. Sánchez-Villagra
Laura A. B. Wilson
Affiliation:
Paläontologisches Institut und Museum, Karl Schmid-Strasse 4, CH-8006 Zürich, Switzerland. E-mail: laura.a.b.wilson@gmail.com
Richard H. Madden
Affiliation:
Duke University, Department of Biological Anthropology and Anatomy, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, U.S.A.
Richard F. Kay
Affiliation:
Duke University, Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Durham, North Carolina 27708, U.S.A., and Nicholas School Faculty, Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Durham, North Carolina 27708, U.S.A.
Marcelo R. Sánchez-Villagra
Affiliation:
Paläontologisches Institut und Museum, Karl Schmid-Strasse 4, CH-8006 Zürich, Switzerland. E-mail: laura.a.b.wilson@gmail.com
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Abstract

A developmental model, based upon murine rodents, has been proposed by Kavanagh et al. (2007) to explain lower molar proportions in mammals. We produce a clade-wide macroevolutionary test of the model using the dental evolutionary trends in a unique radiation of extinct mammals endemic to South America (“Meridiungulata”) that comprise a diverse array of molar morphologies. All of the South American ungulate groups examined follow the inhibitory cascade model with the exception of two groups: Interatheriidae (Notoungulata) and Astrapotheria. For most taxa studied, ratios between lower molar areas are greater than 1.0, indicating a weak inhibition by m1 on the subsequent molars in the tooth row, and a trend to greater absolute size of the posterior molars. Comparisons of mean ratios between clades indicate that a significant phylogenetic signal can be detected, particularly between the two groups within Notoungulata— Typotheria and Toxodontia. Body mass estimates were found to be significantly correlated with both m3/m1 and m2/m1 ratios, suggesting that the larger body size achieved the weaker inhibition between the lower molars. Molar ratio patterns are examined and discussed in relation to the independent and numerous acquisitions of hypsodonty that are characteristic of dental evolution in “Meridiungulata.”

Type
Articles
Information
Paleobiology , Volume 38 , Issue 2 , Spring 2012 , pp. 308 - 321
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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References

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