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Enamel Structure of Cuvieronius hyodon (Proboscidea, Gomphotheriidae) with a Discussion on Enamel Evolution in Elephantoids

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Abstract

Dental material of the South American elephantoid Cuvieronius hyodon from the Late Pleistocene of the Tarija Basin, Bolivia was sampled for a comprehensive analysis of the microstructure of the enamel. To examine variability at the dentition level, enamel samples of the upper incisor, second deciduous premolar, and molars were sectioned. The incisor and cheek teeth enamel is compared to that of other proboscideans in order to reveal phylogenetically and functional informative features useful to reconstruct the evolution of elephantoid enamel. Studies of the adaptations and evolution of proboscidean enamel have focused so far on molars. Nevertheless, given the possibility of an independent evolution of the enamel at different tooth positions, the variation of the enamel throughout the dentition needs to be taken into consideration when using enamel microstructural characters to infer proboscidean diversity and phylogeny. The results obtained from this study demonstrate the generality, among elephantoids, of the basic microstructural features of Cuvieronius hyodon enamel, allowing the characterization of the Elephantoid Enamel (EE). The differentiation between incisor and molar enamel seen in elephantoids is shown to represent a primitive elephantiform trait, as it also occurs in Phiomia. The three-layered enamel of the cheek teeth appears as the sole synapomorphy of the Elephantoidea, though the character might be homoplastic within the Proboscidea. Characters of the prisms cross-section might be used, on the other hand, to define less inclusive clades within the Elephantoidea.

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Acknowledgments

I thank Freddy Rios Paredes (Tarija), Bernardino Mamani Quispe (La Paz), Pascal Tassy (Paris), and Lars Werdelin (Stockholm) for sampling and access to material in their care. I am grateful to Wighart von Koenigswald for providing additional elephantoid enamel samples and for discussion on incisor enamel. I thank the AMNH for permission to reproduce Fig. 7. I also thank Adrian Lister and Rodolphe Tabuce for critical reading of an early draft of the paper and for providing comments and insights. Cyrille Delmer, Youshige Kozawa, Lorenzo Rook, and Keiichi Takahashi are acknowledged for help with literature and discussion. I thank Paolo Pierattini, Maurizio Ulivi, and Fabio Cozzini (Firenze) for technical assistance, and the two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments. This study is framed within a wider research project on the Pleistocene and Holocene evolutionary history of South American mammal assemblages, developed at the University of Firenze (Lorenzo Rook coordinator) and supported by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (Cofin grants 2000 and 2002), the Italian Ministry of Foreigner Affairs (DGPCC grants 2002 and 2003) and the University of Firenze (‘‘Fondi di Ateno’’).

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  1. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Firenze, Via G. La Pira 4, 50121, Firenze, Italy

    Marco P. Ferretti

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Ferretti, M.P. Enamel Structure of Cuvieronius hyodon (Proboscidea, Gomphotheriidae) with a Discussion on Enamel Evolution in Elephantoids. J Mammal Evol 15, 37–58 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-007-9057-3

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