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Tooth loss and alveolar remodeling in Sinosaurus triassicus (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the lower jurassic strata of the Lufeng Basin, China

Chinese Science Bulletin volume 58, pages 1931–1935 (2013)Cite this article

Abstract

Pathological or traumatic loss of teeth often results in the resorption and remodeling of the affected alveoli in mammals. However, instances of alveolar remodeling in reptiles are rare. A remodeled alveolus in the maxilla of the Chinese theropod Sinosaurus (Lower Jurassic Lower Lufeng Formation) is the first confirmed example of such dental pathology in a dinosaur. Given the known relationship between feeding behavior and tooth damage in theropods (teeth with spalled enamel, tooth crowns embedded in bone) and the absence of dentary, maxillary, and premaxillary osteomyelitis, traumatic loss of a tooth is most likely the cause of alveolar remodeling. Based on the extent of remodeling, the injury and subsequent tooth loss were non-fatal in this individual.

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Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, 11455 Saskatchewan Drive, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E9, Canada

    LiDa Xing & Philip J. Currie

  2. School of the Earth Sciences and Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, 100083, China

    LiDa Xing & JianPing Zhang

  3. Pipestone Creek Dinosaur Initiative, Clairmont, Alberta, T0H 0W0, Canada

    Phil R. Bell

  4. Division of Vertebrate Paleontology, Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Institute, University of Kansas, 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA

    Bruce M. Rothschild

  5. Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Ecology of Rare and Endangered Species and Environmental Protection (Guangxi Normal University), Guilin, 541004, China

    Hao Ran

  6. Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China

    ZhiMing Dong

  7. Department of Computer Engineering, Chengdu Electromechanical College, Chengdu, 610072, China

    Wei Zhang

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Xing, L., Bell, P.R., Rothschild, B.M. et al. Tooth loss and alveolar remodeling in Sinosaurus triassicus (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the lower jurassic strata of the Lufeng Basin, China. Chin. Sci. Bull. 58, 1931–1935 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-013-5765-7

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Keywords

  • alveolar remodeling
  • paleopathology
  • Sinosaurus
  • Lufeng Basin
  • China