Skip to main content

The dentition of a well-preserved specimen of Camarasaurus sp.: implications for function, tooth replacement, soft part reconstruction, and food intake

PalZ volume 91, pages 145–161 (2017)Cite this article

Abstract

The basal macronarian genus Camarasaurus was the most common sauropod in the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of North America and is known from several complete and partial skeletons. The specimen used for this study is Camarasaurus sp. SMA 0002 from the Sauriermuseum Aathal, Switzerland. This specimen was found in the Howe-Stephens Quarry, Bighorn Basin, WY, USA. In this study, the dental morphology, characterized by the spatulate, broad-crowned teeth, the tooth replacement pattern, and the function of the dentition and its implications for food intake is described. Features such as the absence of denticles, the wrinkled pattern of the enamel, and the occurrence of large wear facets on older teeth are characteristic for Camarasaurus sp. A slab of sediment with soft tissue impressions ranging up to the middle part of the crown suggests the presence of a gingival soft tissue structure partially covering the teeth. The wrinkled enamel on the crown of the teeth of Camarasaurus sp. and other sauropods is interpreted as indication of this cover of gingival connective tissue. In addition, there possibly was a keratinous beak, which together with the gingiva held the teeth in the jaw and provided stability for teeth in which the root is almost completely resorbed.

Kurzfassung

Die basale Macronaria-Gattung Camarasaurus war einer der häufigsten Sauropoden der oberjurassischen Morrison-Formation in Nord-Amerika und ist anhand mehrerer vollständig erhaltener Skelettfunde bekannt. Für diese Studie wurde das Exemplar eines Camarasaurus sp. (SMA 0002) des Sauriermuseums Aathal in der Schweiz, untersucht. Dieses Exemplar wurde im Howe-Stephens-Steinbruch im Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, USA, gefunden. In dieser Studie wird die Morphologie der Bezahnung beschrieben, die durch breitkronige, spatelförmige Zähne gekennzeichnet ist. Weiterhin werden der Zahnersatz und die Funktion der Bezahnung sowie die daraus resultierenden Folgen für die Nahrungsaufnahme beschrieben. Diagnostische Merkmale für die Bezahnung von Camarasaurus sp. sind die Abwesenheit von Dentikeln, die Runzelung des Zahnschmelzes und das Auftreten von großen Abrasionsflächen an älteren Zähnen. Eine Struktur mit Hauterhaltung, welche die Zähne bis zur Mitte der Krone bedeckt, deutet auf die Anwesenheit einer zahnfleischähnlichen Struktur hin, welche die Zähne zum Teil bedeckt. Der runzelige Zahnschmelz auf den Zahnkronen von Camarasaurus sp. und anderen Sauropoden wird als ein weiterer Hinweis auf diese zahnfleischartige Struktur interpretiert. Zusätzlich zum Zahnfleisch besaß Camarasaurus wahrscheinlich einen keratinösen Schnabel, der zusammen mit dem Zahnfleisch die Zähne in ihrer Position im Kiefer hielten und Stabilität für Zähne mit fast vollständig resorbierten Wurzeln bot.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10

Abbreviations

CMNH:

Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

DfmMh/FV:

Dinosaurier-Freilichtmuseum Münchehagen/Verein zur Förderung der Niedersächsischen Paläontologie, Münchehagen, Germany

DINO:

Dinosaur National Monument, Jensen, UT, USA

GMNH:

Gunma Museum of Natural History, Gunma, Japan

MfN:

Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, Germany

SMA:

Sauriermuseum Aathal, Aathal, Switzerland

References

  • Allain, R., and N. Aquesbi. 2008. Anatomy and phylogenetic relationships of Tazoudasaurus naimi (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the late Early Jurassic of Morocco. Geodiversitas 30(2): 345–424.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ayer, J. 2000. The Howe Ranch Dinosaurs. Aathal, Switzerland: Sauriermuseum Aathal.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barrett, P.M., and P. Upchurch. 2005. Sauropod diversity through time: possible macroevolutionary and paleoecological implications. In Sauropod Evolution and Paleobiology, ed. K.A. Curry-Rogers, and J.A. Wilson, 125–156. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Britt, B.B., R.D. Scheetz, and A. Dangerfield. 2008. A suite of dermestid beetle traces on dinosaur bone from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation, Wyoming, USA. Ichnos 15: 59–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Calvo, J.O. 1994. Jaw mechanics in sauropod dinosaurs. GAIA 10: 183–193.

    Google Scholar 

  • Calvo, J.O., and L. Salgado. 1995. Rebbachisaurus tessonei sp. nov. A new Sauropoda from the Albian-Cenomanian of Argentina; new evidence on the origin of the Diplodocidae. GAIA 11: 13–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carballido, J.L., and D. Pol. 2010. The dentition of Amygdalodon patagonicus (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) and the dental evolution in basal sauropods. Comptes Rendus Palevol 9: 83–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carballido, J.L., and P.M. Sander. 2013. Postcranial axial skeleton of Europasaurus holgeri (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the Upper Jurassic of Germany: implications for sauropod ontogeny and phylogenetic relationships of basal Macronaria. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 12(3): 335–387.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chatterjee, S., and Z. Zheng. 2002. Neuroanatomy of Shunosaurus, a basal sauropod dinosaur from the middle Jurassic of China. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society of London 136: 145–169.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chatterjee, S., and Z. Zheng. 2005. Neuroanatomy and dentition of Camarasaurus lentus. In Thunder-Lizards. The Sauropodomorph Dinosaurs, ed. V. Tidwell, and K. Carpenter, 199–211. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Christiansen, P. 2000. Feeding mechanisms of the sauropod dinosaurs Brachiosaurus, Camarasaurus, Diplodocus, and Dicraeosaurus. Historical Biology 14(3): 137–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chure, D., B.B. Britt, J.A. Whitlock, and J.M. Wilson. 2010. First complete sauropod dinosaur skull from the Cretaceous of the Americas and the evolution of sauropod dentition. Naturwissenschaften 97: 379–391.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Curry-Rogers, K.A., and C. Forster. 2001. The last of the dinosaur titans: a new sauropod from Madagascar. Nature 412: 530–534.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Curry-Rogers, K.A., and J.A. Wilson. 2005. The Sauropods. Evolution and Paleobiology. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeMar, R.E. 1972. Evolutionary implications of Zahnreihen. Evolution 26: 435–450.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D`Emic, M.D. 2012. The early evolution of titanosauriform sauropod dinosaurs. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 166(3): 624–671.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D’Emic, M.D., J.A. Whitlock, K.M. Smith, D.C. Fischer, and J.A. Wilson. 2013. Evolution of high tooth replacement rates in sauropod dinosaurs. PLoS ONE 8(7): e69235.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Díez Díaz, V., T. Tortosa, and J. Le Loeuff. 2013. Sauropod diversity in the Latest Cretaceous of south-western Europe: the lessons of odontology. Annales de Paléontologie 99(2): 119–129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Díez Díaz, V., F. Ortega, and J.L. Sanz. 2014. Titanosaurian teeth from the Late Cretaceous of “Lo Hueco” (Cuenca, Spain). Cretaceous Research 51: 285–291.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edmund, A.G. 1960. Tooth replacement phenomena in lower vertebrates. Royal Ontario Museum, Life Sciences Division Contributions 52: 1–190.

    Google Scholar 

  • Edmund, A.G. 1969. Dentition. In Biology of the Reptilia Vol. 1: Morphology A, eds. C. Gans, A. d´A. Bellairs, and T.S. Parsons, 117– 200. New York: Academic.

  • Foster, J.R. 2007. Jurassic West. The Dinosaurs of the Morrison Formation and their World. Life of the Past. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

  • Gee, C.T. 2011. Dietary options for the sauropod dinosaurs from an integrated botanical and paleobotanical perspective. In Biology of the Sauropod Dinosaurs: Understanding the Life of Giants, ed. N. Klein, K. Remes, C.T. Gee, and P.M. Sander, 34–56. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hendrickx, C., and O. Mateus. 2014. Torvosaurus gurneyi n. sp., the largest terrestrial predator from Europe, and a proposed terminology of the maxilla anatomy in nonavian theropods. PLoS ONE 9(3): e88905.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holwerda, F.M., D. Pol, and O.W.M. Rauhut. 2015. Using dental wrinkling to define sauropod tooth morphotypes from the Cañadón Asfalto Formation, Patagonia, Argentina. PLoS ONE 10(2): e0118100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hummel, J., C.T. Gee, K.-H. Südekum, P.M. Sander, G. Nogge, and M. Clauss. 2008. In vitro digestibility of fern and gymnosperm foliage: implications for sauropod feeding ecology and diet selection. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 275: 1015–1021.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ikejiri, T., V. Tidwell, and D.L. Trexler. 2005. New adult specimens of Camarasaurus lentus highlight ontogenetic variation within the species. In Thunder-Lizards. The Sauropodomorph Dinosaurs, eds. V. Tidwell, and K. Carpenter, 154– 179. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

  • Janensch W. 1929. Material und Formengehalt der Sauropoden in der Ausbeute der Tendaguru Expedition. Palaeontographica (Supplement 7) 2: 1–34.

  • Janensch, W. 1935-1936. Die Schädel der Sauropoden Brachiosaurus, Barosaurus und Dicraeosaurus aus den Tendaguruschichten Deutsch-Ostafrikas. Palaeontographica (Supplement 7) 2: 147– 298.

  • Klein, N., K. Remes, C.T. Gee, and P.M. Sander. 2011. Biology of the Sauropod Dinosaurs: Understanding the Life of Giants. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Madsen, J.H.J., J.S. McIntosh, and D.S. Berman. 1995. Skull and atlas-axis complex of the Upper Jurassic sauropod Camarasaurus sp. Cope (Reptilia: Saurischia). Bulletin of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History 31: 1–115.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marpmann, J.S., J.L. Carballido, P.M. Sander, and N. Knötschke. 2015. Cranial anatomy of the Late Jurassic dwarf sauropod Europasaurus holgeri (Dinosauria, Camarasauromorpha): ontogenetic changes and size dimorphism. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 13(3): 221–263.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McIntosh, J.S., C.A. Miles, K.C. Cloward, and J.R. Parker. 1996. A new nearly complete skeleton of Camarasaurus. Bulletin of Gunma Museum of Natural History 1: 1–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Michelis, I. 2004. Vergleichende Taphonomie des Howe Quarry (Morrison-Formation, Oberer Jura), Bighorn County, Wyoming, USA. Bonn: Dissertation, Universität Bonn.

  • Osborn, J.W. 1970. New approach to Zahnreihen. Nature 225: 343–346.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Owen, R. 1840–1845. Odontography. London: Hippolyte Billiere.

  • Pol, D., and J.E. Powell. 2007. New information on Lessemsaurus sauropoides (Dinosauria: Sauropodomorpha) from the Upper Triassic of Argentina. Special Papers in Palaeontology 77: 223–243.

    Google Scholar 

  • Régent, V. 2011. Die Bezahnung des Zwerg-Sauropoden Europasaurus holgeri aus dem Oberjura Norddeutschlands—ontogenetische und funktionelle Muster. Bonn: unpublished Diploma Thesis, Universität Bonn.

  • Saegusa, H., and Y. Tomida. 2011. Titanosauriform teeth from the Cretaceous of Japan. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências 83(1): 247–265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salgado, L., R.A. Coria, and J.O. Calvo. 1997. Evolution of titanosaurid sauropods. I: Phylogenetic analysis based on the postcranial evidence. Ameghiniana 34: 3–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sander, P.M. 1997. Teeth and jaws. In Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs, ed. P.J. Currie, and K. Padian, 717–725. San Diego: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sander, P.M. 1999. The microstructure of reptilian tooth enamel: terminology, function, and phylogeny. Münchner Geowissenschaftliche Abhandlungen 38: 1–102.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sander, P.M. 2000. Long bone histology of the Tendaguru sauropods: implications for growth and biology. Paleobiology 26(3): 466–488.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sander, P.M. 2013. An evolutionary cascade model for sauropod gigantism—overview, update and tests. PLoS ONE 8(10): e78573.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sander, P.M., T.G. Gee, J. Hummel, and M. Clauss. 2010. Mesozoic plants and dinosaur herbivory. In Plants in Mesozoic Time: Innovations, Phylogeny, Ecosystems, ed. C.T. Gee, 330–359. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sander, P.M., A. Christian, M. Clauss, R. Fechner, C.T. Gee, E.M. Griebeler, H.C. Gunga, J. Hummel, H. Mallison, S.F. Perry, H. Preuschoft, O.W.M. Rauhut, K. Remes, O. Wings, and U. Witzel. 2011a. Biology of the sauropod dinosaurs: the evolution of gigantism. Biological Reviews 86(1): 117–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sander, P.M., N. Klein, K. Stein, and O. Wings. 2011b. Sauropod bone histology and its implications for sauropod biology. In Biology of the Sauropod Dinosaurs: Understanding the Life of Giants, ed. N. Klein, K. Remes, C.T. Gee, and P.M. Sander, 276–302. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sander, P.M., O. Mateus, T. Laven, and N. Knötschke. 2006. Bone histology indicates insular dwarfism in a new Late Jurassic sauropod dinosaur. Nature 441: 739–741.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanz, J.L., J.E. Powell, J. LeLoeuff, R. Martinez, and X. Pereda-Suberiola. 1999. Sauropod remains from the Upper Cretaceous of Laño (northcentral Spain), titanosaur phylogenetic relationships. Estudios del Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Nava 14: 235–255.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schäfer, W. 1962. Aktuo-Paläontologie nach Studien in der Nordsee. Frankfurt am Main: Verlag Waldemar Kramer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwarz, D., J.C.D. Kosch, G. Fritsch, and T. Hildebrandt. 2015. Dentition and tooth replacement of Dicraeosaurus hansemanni (Dinosauria, Sauropoda, Diplodocoidea) from the Tendaguru Formation of Tanzania. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 35(6): e1008134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Siber, H.-J., and U. Möckli. 2009. The stegosaurs from the Sauriermuseum Aathal. Aathal, Switzerland: Sauriermuseum Aathal.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, J.B., and P. Dodson. 2003. A proposal for a standard terminology of anatomical notation and orientation in fossil vertebrate dentitions. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 23(1): 1–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stevens, K.A. 2013. The articulation of sauropod necks: methodology and mythology. PLoS ONE 8(10): e78572.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tschopp, E., O. Mateus, R. Kosma, P.M. Sander, U. Joger, and O. Wings. 2014. A specimen-level cladistic analysis of Camarasaurus (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) and a revision of camarasaurid taxonomy. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontolog, Program and Abstracts: 241.

  • Tschopp, E., O. Wings, T. Frauenfelder, and B.M. Rothschild. 2016. Pathological phalanges in a camarasaurid sauropod dinosaur and implications on behavior. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 61(1): 125–134.

    Google Scholar 

  • Upchurch, P. 1995. Evolutionary history of sauropod dinosaurs. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B 349: 365–390.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Upchurch, P. 1998. The phylogenetic relationships of sauropod dinosaurs. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 124: 43–103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Upchurch, P., and P.M. Barrett. 2000. The evolution of sauropod feeding mechanisms. In Evolution of Herbivory in Terrestrial Vertebrates: Perspectives from the Fossil Record, ed. H.-D. Sues, 79–122. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Upchurch, P., P.M. Barrett, and P. Dodson. 2004. Sauropoda. In The Dinosauria, 2nd ed, ed. D.B. Weishampel, P. Dodson, and H. Osmólska, 259–322. Berkeley: Indiana University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Upchurch, P., and P.M. Barret. 2005. Phylogenetic and taxic perspectives on sauropod diversity. In The Sauropods. Evolution and Paleobiology, eds. K.A. Curry Rogers, and J.A. Wilson, 104– 124. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.

  • von Huene, F. 1926. Vollständige Osteologie eines Plateosauriden aus dem schwäbischen Keuper. Geologische und Paläontologische Abhandlungen 15: 129–179.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waskow, K., and P.M. Sander. 2014. Growth record and histological variation in the dorsal ribs of Camarasaurus sp. (Sauropoda). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 35(4): 852–869.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, J.A. 2002. Sauropod dinosaur phylogeny: critique and cladistic analysis. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 136: 217–276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, J.A., and P.C. Sereno. 1998. Early evolution and higher-level phylogeny of sauropod dinosaurs. Memoirs of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology 5: 1–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whitlock, J.A. 2011. Inferences of diplodocoid (Sauropoda: Dinosauria) feeding behaviour from snout shape and microwear analyses. PLoS ONE 6(4): e18304.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whitlock, J.A., and J.M. Richman. 2013. Biology of tooth replacement in amniotes. International Journal of Oral Science 5: 66–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yates, A.M., M.F. Bonnan, J. Neveling, A. Chinsmy, and M.G. Blackbeard. 2010. A new transitional sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Early Jurassic of South Africa and the evolution of sauropod feeding and quadrupedalism. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 277(1682): 787–794.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zaher, H., D. Pol, A.B. Carvalho, P.M. Nascimento, C. Riccomini, P. Larson, R. Juarez-Valieri, R. Pires-Domingues, N. Jorge da Silva, and D. de Almeida Campos. 2011. A complete skull of an Early Cretaceous sauropod and the evolution of advanced titanosaurians. PLoS ONE 6(2): e16663.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Our foremost thanks go to Dr. Hans Jakob “Köbi” Siber, director, and Dr. Thomas Bolliger, vice director of the Sauriermuseum Aathal, Switzerland, for collaboration and granting us access to the Camarasaurus sp. SMA 0002. Furthermore, we would like to thank Dr. Ben Papst and Dr. Emanuel Tschopp for providing detailed information about SMA 0002. Many thanks go to Nils Knötschke from the Dinopark Münchehagen, Germany, and Dr. Oliver Wings, formerly at the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, Germany, for allowing us to study the Europasaurus and Giraffatitan material under their care. Special thanks go to Dr. Heinrich Mallison for providing the photogrammetric 3D model of the skull of SMA 0002. Members of the DFG Research Unit 533 “Biology of the Sauropod Dinosaurs” are greatly acknowledged for inspiring discussion, especially Katja Waskow and Jessica Mitchell. Special thanks go to Verena Régent for providing access to her unpublished diploma thesis. Funding of this project was provided through DFG grant SA 469/19. This is contribution number 167 of the DFG Research Unit 533 “Biology of the Sauropod Dinosaurs. The Evolution of Gigantism”.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Steinmann Institute of Geology, Mineralogy and Paleontology, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Nussallee 8, 53115, Bonn, Germany

    Kayleigh Wiersma & P. Martin Sander

Authors
  1. Kayleigh Wiersma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. P. Martin Sander
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kayleigh Wiersma.

Additional information

Handling editor: Mike Reich and Oliver Rauhut.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wiersma, K., Sander, P.M. The dentition of a well-preserved specimen of Camarasaurus sp.: implications for function, tooth replacement, soft part reconstruction, and food intake. PalZ 91, 145–161 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-016-0332-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-016-0332-6

Keywords

  • Camarasaurus sp.
  • Dentition
  • Morphology
  • Function
  • Soft tissue

Schlüsselwörter

  • Camarasaurus sp.
  • Bezahnung
  • Morphologie
  • Funktion
  • Weichteilerhaltung