Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T02:14:18.666Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The use of gross dental wear in dietary studies of extinct lagomorphs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 May 2016

Danielle Fraser  and
Jessica M. Theodor
Danielle Fraser
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, the University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4,
Jessica M. Theodor
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, the University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4,
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Studies of paleoenvironments have commonly focused on large mammalian herbivores such as ungulates. Many localities, however, have yielded large numbers of small mammalian herbivores, including lagomorphs and rodents. These fossils represent an untapped paleoecological resource. However, the fossils are often in the form of isolated teeth, and microwear analysis cannot be used due to taphonomic alteration. As a result, we use ungulate gross dental wear as a model. The dental wear features of extant western Canadian lagomorphs are identified and used to create dietary categories that can be applied to make predictions about the diets of extinct forms. The Horse Local Fauna of the Cypress Hills Formation of Saskatchewan has yielded approximately 2,500 fossil specimens, of which nearly 300 are lagomorphs. Two leporid species (rabbits and hares) are present in the Horse Local Fauna, Palaeolagus temnodon and Megalagus brachyodon. Qualitative analysis of the gross dental wear of the lagomorphs of the Horse Local Fauna indicates that M. brachyodon was mainly folivorous and P. temnodon was primarily frugivorous, suggesting that the contemporaneous ecosystem was tree dominated. Gross dental wear analysis allows the use of small herbivores and isolated teeth in paleoecological studies. Studying the diets of small herbivorous mammals will allow more nearly complete reconstructions of past environments and will become increasingly important as more detailed reconstructions are required by paleontologists.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Paleontology , Volume 84 , Issue 4 , July 2010 , pp. 720 - 729
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bachman, J. 1837. Observations on the different species of hares (genus Lepus) inhabiting the United States and Canada. Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, 7:282–361.Google Scholar
Bachman, J. 1839. Additional remarks on the genus Lepus, with corrections of a former paper, and descriptions of other species of quadrupeds found in North America. Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, 8:75–105.Google Scholar
Best, T. L. and Henry, T. H. 1994. Lepus arcticus. Mammalian Species, 457:1–9.Google Scholar
Chapman, J. A. 1975. Sylvilagus nuttallii . Mammalian Species, 56:1–3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chapman, J. A. and Flux, J. E. C. 1990. Rabbits and Pikas: status survey and conservation action plan, 168 p.Google Scholar
Dompierre, H. and Churcher, C. S. 1996. Premaxillary shape as an indicator of the diet of seven extinct late cenozoic new world camels. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 16:141–148.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Epstein, H. E., Lauenroth, W. K., Burke, I. C., and Coffin, D. P. 1997. Productivity Patterns of C3 and C4 Functional Types in the U.S. Great Plains. Ecology, 78:722–731.Google Scholar
Erxleben, J. C. P. 1777. Systema regni animalis per classes ordines, genera, species, varietates cum synonymia et historia animalium. Classis 1. Mammalia. Weygandianis, Lipsiae. 639 p.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fortelius, M. and Solounias, N. 2000. Functional characterization of ungulate molars using the abrasion-attrition wear gradient: a new method for reconstructing paleodiets. American Museum Novitates, 3301:1–36.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fraser, D., Mallon, J. C., Furr, R., and Theodor, J. M. 2009. Improving the repeatability of low magnification microwear methods utilizing high dynamic range imaging. PALAIOS, 24:818–825.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gawne, C. E. 1978. Leporids (Lagomorpha, Mammalia) from the Chadronian (Oligocene) deposits of Flagstaff Rim, Wyoming. Journal of Paleontology, 52:1103–1118.Google Scholar
Gordon, I. J. and Illius, A. W. 1988. Incisor Arcade Structure and Diet Selection in Ruminants. Functional Ecology, 2:15–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hanley, T. A. 1982. The nutritional basis for food selection by ungulates. Journal of Range Management, 35:146–151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoffman, R. R. and Stewart, D. R. M. 1972. Grazer or browser: a classification based on the stomach structure and feeding habits of east African ruminants. Mammalia, 36:226–240.Google Scholar
Jacobs, B. F., Kingston, J. D., and Jacobs, L. L. 1999. The origin of grass-dominated ecosystems. Annals of Missouri Botanical Garden, 86:590–643.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Janis, C. 1976. The evolutionary strategy of the Equidae and the origins of rumen and cecal digestion. Evolution, 30:757–774.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Janis, C. M. 1979. Mastication in the Hyrax and its Relevance to Ungulate Dental Evolution. Paleobiology 5:50–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Janis, C. M. 1990. The correlation between diet and dental wear in herbivorous mammals, and its relationship to the determination of diets in extinct species, p. 241–259. In Boucot, A. J. (ed), Evolutionary paleobiology in behavior and coevolution, Elsevier, Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Janis, C. M. and Ehrhardt, D. 1988. Correlation of relative muzzle width and relative incisor width with dietary preference in ungulates. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 92:267–284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Janis, C. M. and Fortelius, M. 1988. On the means whereby mammals achieve increased functional durability of their dentitions, with special reference to limiting factors. Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, 63:197–230.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Janis, C. M., Damuth, J., and Theodor, J. M. 2000. Miocene ungulates and terrestrial primary productivity: where have all the browsers gone?. PNAS 97:7899–7904.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kaiser, T. M. and Fortelius, M. 2003. Differential mesowear in occluding upper and lower molars: opening mesowear analysis for lower molars and premolars in hypsodont horses. Journal of Morphology, 258:67–83.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kaiser, T. M. and Solounias, N. 2003. Extending the tooth mesowear method to extinct and extant equids. Geodiversitas, 25:321–345.Google Scholar
King, T., Andrews, P., and Boz, B. 1999. Effect of taphonomic processes on dental microwear. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 108:359–373.3.0.CO;2-9>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lim, B. K. 1987. Lepus townsendii. Mammalian Species, 288:1–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martinez, N. L. 1985. Reconstruction of ancestral cranioskeletal features in the order lagomorpha, p. 241–259. In Luckett, W. P. and Hartenberger, J-L. (eds), Evolutionary Relationships among Rodents, Plenum Press, New York and London.Google Scholar
Mendoza, M., Janis, C. M., and Palmqvist, P. 2002. Characterizing complex craniodental patterns related to the feeding behavior of ungulates: a multivariate approach. The Zoological Society of London, 258:223–246.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meyer, T. 2007. Chadronian insectivores of the Cypress Hills. Unpublished M.Sc. thesis, University of Saskatchewan, 171 p.Google Scholar
Popowics, T. E. and Fortelius, M. 1997. On the Cutting Edge: Tooth blade sharpness in herbivorous and faunivorous mammals. Finnish Zoological and Botanical Publishing Board, 34:73–88.Google Scholar
Rensberger, J. M. 1986. Early Chewing Mechanisms in Mammalian Herbivores. Paleobiology, 12:474–494.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rensberger, J. M. 1973. An Occlusion Model for mastication and dental wear in herbivorous mammals. Journal of Paleontology, 47:515–528.Google Scholar
Richardson, J. 1828. Short characters of a few quadrupeds procured on Capt. Franklin's late expedition. The Zoological Journal, 3:516–520.Google Scholar
Ross, J. 1819. A voyage of discovery, made under the orders of the admiralty, in his majesty's ships Isabella and Alexander, for the purpose of exploring Baffin's Bay, and enquiring into the probability of a north west passage. Second ed. Volume 2, appendix 4, p. 151, 170. Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown.Google Scholar
Russell, L. S. 1972. Tertiary mammals of Saskatchewan Pt. II: The Oligocene fauna, non-ungulate orders. Life Sciences Contribution, Royal Ontario Museum, 84: 1–97.Google Scholar
Smith, A. T. and Weston, M. L. 1990. Ochotona princeps. Mammalian Species, 352:1–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Solounias, N. and Semprebon, G. 2002. Advances in the reconstruction of ungulate ecomorphology with application to early Fossil equids. American Museum Novitates, 3366:1–52.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Solounias, N., Teaford, M., and Walker, A. 1988. Interpreting the Diet of Extinct Ruminants: The Case of a Non-Browsing Giraffid. Paleobiology 14:287–300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Solounias, N., Moelleken, S. M. C., and Plavcan, J. M. 1995. Predicting the diet of extinct bovids using masseteric morphology. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 15:795–805.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Storer, J. E. 1981. Lagomorphs of the Calf Creek local fauna (Cypress Hills Formation, Oligocene, Chadronian), Saskatchewan. Natural History Contributions, Saskatchewan Museum of Natural History, 4:1–14.Google Scholar
Storer, J. E. and Bryant, H. N. 1993. Biostratigraphy of the Cypress Hills Formation (Eocene to Miocene), Saskatchewan: equid types (Mammalia: Perissodactyla) and associated faunal assemblages. Journal of Paleontology, 67(4):660–669.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Theodor, J. M., and Furr, R. 2008. High dynamic range imaging as applied to paleontological specimen photography. Palaeontologia Electronica, 12 (1):1–30.Google Scholar
Weijs, W. A. and Dantuma, R. 1981. Functional anatomy of the masticatory apparatus in the rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Netherlands Journal of Zoology, 31(1):99–147.Google Scholar