Functional and phylogenetic variation in anthropoid incisor size

Bibliographic Data

ID8316038
AuthorsJeremiah E Scott (0000-0003-1427-3010, Department of Medical Anatomical Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific, Western University of Health Sciences Pomona California USA, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume176
Issue3
Pages390-401
Publication date2021-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Physical Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-9483 • E-ISSN: 1096-8644
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ajpa.24375
PMID34297357
OpenAlexW3183298030
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited73

OBJECTIVES: Previous studies have shown that frugivorous anthropoids have wider incisors than folivores relative to body mass, and that catarrhines have relatively wider incisors than platyrrhines. This study reexamines these contrasts using mandibular length as a biomechanical standard to quantify relative incisor width. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Dental, mandibular, and body-mass data for 86 anthropoid species were taken from the literature. Incisor width was size-adjusted using shape ratios, with mandibular length and body mass as the denominators. Dietary and phylogenetic effects were examined using phylogenetic generalized least squares. RESULTS: Mandible-based ratios provide a signal that is very similar to the one derived from ratios computed using body mass. Frugivores have relatively wider incisors than folivores, as expected. There is limited support for a stronger dietary effect in platyrrhines when mandible-based ratios are used, but neither type of ratio indicates an overall difference between platyrrhines and catarrhines. DISCUSSION: Although both ratios support a link between incisor size and diet, there is some evidence indicating that mandible-based ratios are more sensitive to dietary variation at smaller phylogenetic scales. Understanding why the signals from the two ratios diverge at such scales may help clarify the functional significance of variation in incisor width. The results of this study undermine the view that platyrrhines, as a group, tend to have narrower incisors than catarrhines, regardless of diet. Instead, the difference between the two clades noted in previous studies can be explained by greater incisor functional diversity in platyrrhines

Biology · Frugivore · Incisor · Mandible (arthropod mouthpart) · Phylogenetic tree · Zoology · Anatomy · Ecology · Evolution and Paleontology Studies · Genetics · Medicine · Orthodontics · Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology · Primate Behavior and Ecology

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