Variations in molar enamel thickness among primates

R. Peter Shellis · A. David Beynon · Don J. Reid · Karen M. Hiiemäe

140 citations0/0 files storedJournal of Human Evolution

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Primate Behavior and Ecology Evolution and Paleontology Studies Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology

Abstract

Because of its hardness, resistance to abrasion and its influence on crown morphology, molar enamel thickness is an important factor in adaptation of the dentition to the diet. Enamel thickness has also been discussed extensively in relation to the phylogenetic relationships among the hominoids. The aims of this study were: (1) to analyse enamel thickness/tooth size relationships among primates as a whole, and (2) to evaluate variations in enamel thickness among hominoids against the background of the other primates. We employed measures of tooth size, and of enamel thickness and quantity based on measurements of areas in longitudinal sections of 125 molars of 39 species. Among primates, there were two grades of enamel thickness, prosimians having thinner enamel for a given tooth size or body weight than anthropoids. The scaling of enamel thickness with tooth size and body weight tended to show positive allometry among anthropoids. Comparison of hominoid enamel thicknesses with that in anthropoids led to the conclusion that Hylobates has enamel of average thickness, Homo has thick enamel and Gorilla has thin enamel, while Pan and Pongo had average or thin enamel, depending on tooth type. These results may be relevant to considerations of hominoid evolution.

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References

1994Australopithecus ramidus, a new species of early hominid from Aramis, Ethiopia 1993Linear measurements of cortical bone and dental enamel by computed tomography: Applications and problems 1981The nut‐crackers – a new theory of the adaptations of the Ramapithecinae 1991On thick and thin enamel in hominoids 1992Computed tomography and enamel thickness of maxillary molars of Plio‐Pleistocene hominids from Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, and Kromdraai (South Africa): An exploratory study 1994Variation in enamel thickness and cusp area within human maxillary molars and its bearing on scaling techniques used for studies of enamel thickness between species

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