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Hu, Jinfeng; Forster, Catherine A; Xu, Xing; Zhao, Qi; He, Yiming; Han, Fenglu

Computed tomographic analysis of the dental system of three Jurassic ceratopsians and implications for the evolution of tooth replacement pattern and diet in early-diverging ceratopsians

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  • Media type: E-Article
  • Title: Computed tomographic analysis of the dental system of three Jurassic ceratopsians and implications for the evolution of tooth replacement pattern and diet in early-diverging ceratopsians
  • Contributor: Hu, Jinfeng; Forster, Catherine A; Xu, Xing; Zhao, Qi; He, Yiming; Han, Fenglu
  • imprint: eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd, 2022
  • Published in: eLife
  • Language: English
  • DOI: 10.7554/elife.76676
  • ISSN: 2050-084X
  • Keywords: General Immunology and Microbiology ; General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology ; General Medicine ; General Neuroscience
  • Origination:
  • Footnote:
  • Description: <jats:p>The dental system of ceratopsids is among the most specialized structure in Dinosauria by the presence of tooth batteries and high-angled wear surfaces. However, the origin of this unique dental system is poorly understood due to a lack of relevant knowledge in early-diverging ceratopsians. Here, we study the dental system of three earliest-diverging Chinese ceratopsians: <jats:italic>Yinlong</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>Hualianceratops</jats:italic> from the early Late Jurassic of Xinjiang and <jats:italic>Chaoyangsaurus</jats:italic> from the Late Jurassic of Liaoning Province. By micro-computed tomographic analyses, our study has revealed significant new information regarding the dental system, including no more than five replacement teeth in each jaw quadrant; at most one replacement tooth in each alveolus; nearly full resorption of the functional tooth root; and occlusion with low-angled, concave wear facets. <jats:italic>Yinlong</jats:italic> displays an increase in the number of maxillary alveoli and a decrease in the number of replacement teeth during ontogeny as well as the retention of functional tooth remnants in the largest individual. <jats:italic>Chaoyangsaurus</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>Hualianceratops</jats:italic> have slightly more replacement teeth than <jats:italic>Yinlong</jats:italic>. In general, early-diverging ceratopsians display a relatively slow tooth replacement rate and likely use gastroliths to triturate foodstuffs. The difference in dietary strategy might have influenced the tooth replacement pattern in later-diverging ceratopsians.</jats:p>
  • Access State: Open Access