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Hypsodonty of Dipodidae (Rodentia) in Correlation with Diet Preferences and Habitats

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Abstract

The evolution of molar teeth from low-crowned (brachyodont) to high-crowned (hypsodont) has traditionally been recognized as a response to increasing tooth wear due to endogenous (e.g., fiber, silica) and/ or exogenous (e.g., dust, grit) properties of ingested food. Recent work indicates that the mean hypsodonty level of large herbivorous land mammalian communities is a strong predictor of precipitation in their habitats. For small mammals, however, the research is still in an early stage. This study performed comparative studies of hypsodonty on 26 extant dipodid species with and without consideration of phylogeny. The results confirm the role of diet in shaping the cheek tooth crown height in Dipodidae. The significant relationship of investigated environmental variables with hypsodonty may be partly due to phylogenetic effects. Nonetheless, the mean hypsodonty of dipodid communities has significant relationship with regional climatic variables. Hence, the hypsodonty of dipodids also has great potential to be a regional climate proxy.

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Acknowledgments

We appreciate constructive comments and suggestions of Dr. Yuri Kimura (National Museum of Nature and Science, Japan) and an anonymous reviewer. Prof. Mikael Fortelius (University of Helsinki), Mr. Yuanbao Du and Jilong Chen (Institute of Zoology, CAS) provided comments and help in the early versions of this manuscript. Thanks to Dr. Xia Lin (IZ, CAS) for her help in data collection and discussion. We also thank Mr. Yameng Zhang, Jian Wang, and Wenhui Liu (IVPP) for their assistance in the application of software. This research was funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China (41472003, 41402003), the Major Basic Research Projects (2012CB821904) of MST of China, and Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA05120203). Deyan Ge is sponsored by the Newton Advanced Fellowship of the Royal Society, United Kingdom (NA150142).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 142 Xizhimenwai Street, Beijing, 100044, China

    Haidan Ma & Zhaoqun Zhang

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.19A Yuquan Road, Beijing, 100049, China

    Haidan Ma & Zhaoqun Zhang

  3. Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100101 Beichen West Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China

    Deyan Ge & Qisen Yang

  4. Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of Negev, 84990 Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Beersheba, Israel

    Georgy Shenbrot

  5. Laboratory of Conservation Genetics, Institute of Botany (B22), University of Liege, Sart-Tilman, 4000, Liege, Belgium

    Julie Pisano

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  1. Haidan Ma
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Ma, H., Ge, D., Shenbrot, G. et al. Hypsodonty of Dipodidae (Rodentia) in Correlation with Diet Preferences and Habitats. J Mammal Evol 24, 485–494 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-016-9352-y

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