Ancient Amphibian Had Mouthful of Teeth Ready to Grab You
In research published online in a recent issue of PeerJ, an open access journal, Professor Robert Reisz, Distinguished Professor of Paleontology at UTM, explains that the presence of such an extensive field of teeth provides clues to how the intriguing feeding mechanism seen in modern amphibians was also likely used by their ancient ancestors.The Early Permian dissorophid Cacops displays its fearsome dentition as it preys on the hapless reptile Captorhinus.
Illustration by Brian Engh (dontmesswithdinosaurs.com)
In many vertebrates, ranging from fish to early synapsids (ancestors of mammals), denticles are commonly found in dense concentrations on the bones of the hard palate (roof of the mouth). However, in one group of tetrapods, temnospondyls (which are thought to be the ancestors of modern amphibians) these denticles were also found on small, bony plates that filled the large soft part of the palate. The entire roof of the mouth was covered with literally thousands of these tiny teeth that they used to grab prey. Since these toothy plates were suspended in soft tissue, they are often lost or scattered during fossilization.
A thematic diagram showing a cut across the skull showing the position of the denticulate plates that covered the soft palate. On the left is at resting stage, on the right, ventral movement of the soft palate by retraction of the eyeballs, during feeding
Denticles are significantly smaller than the teeth around the margin of the mouth–on the order of dozens to a couple hundred microns in length. They are actually true teeth, rather than just protrusions in the mouths of these tetrapods, says Reisz and his colleagues, Bryan Gee and Yara Haridy, both graduate students in paleontology.
“Denticles have all of the features of the large teeth that are found on the margin of the mouth,” says Reisz. “In examining tetrapod specimens dating back ~289 million years, we discovered that the denticles display essentially all of the main features that are considered to define teeth, including enamel and dentine, pulp cavity and peridontia.”
In reaching these conclusions, the researchers analyzed specimens unearthed from the fossil-rich Dolese Brothers Limestone Quarry near Richards Spur, Oklahoma. They were extraordinarily well preserved, making them ideal candidates for study.
Reisz and his graduate students suggest that the next big question relates to evolutionary changes to the overall abundance of teeth: if these ancient amphibians had an astonishing number of teeth, why have most modern amphibians reduced or entirely lost their teeth?
The research was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
Contacts and sources:
Robert Reisz, Distinguished Professor of Paleontology
Source: http://www.ineffableisland.com/2017/09/ancient-amphibian-had-mouthful-of-teeth.html
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