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Tooth histology, attachment, and replacement in the Ichthyopterygia reviewed in an evolutionary context

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Abstract

Ichthyosaurs, an extinct group of Mesozoic marine diapsids, show a relatively small range of tooth crown morphologies. With few exceptions, members of the group bear a large number of conical teeth and show only minor heterodonty within a jaw. This uniformity in gross morphology masks a high degree of variation in both the quantity and arrangement of the mineralized tooth tissues. Here, we describe tooth tissue structure and distribution in derived ichthyosaurs. We synthesize these new observations with the historical literature, to map changes in the quantity and arrangement of tooth tissues. These changes affected tooth attachment, tooth replacement, plicidentine morphology, and the amount and distribution of cellular cementum. The amount of variation detected in features relating to ichthyosaurian dentition is not surprising given the geological longevity and morphological disparity of the group, but does emphasize the importance of extensive taxon sampling in studies of tooth histology and evolution. This study is important in that it incorporates morphological and histological information in a phylogenetic and developmental context, something that is rarely done for marine reptile dentitions.

Kurzfassung

Die Ichthyosaurier, eine ausgestorbene Gruppe von mesozoischen marinen Diapsiden, zeigen nur geringe morphologische Unterschiede der Zahnkronen. Die Mitglieder der Gruppe tragen, mit wenigen Ausnahmen, eine große Anzahl von konischen Zähnen, und zeigen nur geringfügige Heterodontie innerhalb eines Kiefers. Diese Einheitlichkeit in der Gesamtmorphologie verbirgt ein großes Ausmaß an Variation, sowohl was die Anzahl als auch die Anordnung der mineralisierten Zahngewebe betrifft. In der vorliegenden Arbeit beschreiben wir die Struktur und Verteilung des Zahngewebes bei Ichthyosauriern. Wir vergleichen diese neuen Beobachtungen mit solchen aus der Literatur, um Veränderungen der Zahngewebe bei Ichthyosauriern darzustellen. Diese Veränderungen betrafen Zahnbefestigung, Zahnersatz, Plicidentin-Morphologie und die Menge und Verteilung von zellulärem Zement. Der Grad an Variabilität, der bei den Merkmalen des Ichthyosauriergebisses festgestellt wurde, ist in Anbetracht der geologische Langlebigkeit und der morphologischen Unterschiede der Gruppe nicht überraschend, unterstreicht aber die Bedeutung der umfangreichen Probenahme an Taxa bei Untersuchungen der Zahnhistologie und -entwicklung. Diese Studie ist im Hinblick darauf wichtig, dass sie morphologische und histologische Informationen in einen phylogenetischen Zusammenhang und einen Entwicklungszusammenhang setzt, was sonst nur selten bei Gebissen von Meeresreptilien getan wird.

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Abbreviations

AM:

Australian Museum

ROM:

Royal Ontario Museum

UALVP:

University of Alberta Vertebrate Paleontology

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank D. Evans (Royal Ontario Museum), R. Jones (Australian Museum, Sydney), and J. McNamara (South Australia Museum, Adelaide) for access to specimens. Thanks are due to B. Barr for discussions and comments during manuscript preparation, P. Druckenmiller and M. Zammit provided helpful reviews. K. Wolkenstein and R. Böttcher assisted with abstract translation. Financial support was provided by an I.W. Killam Memorial Postdoctoral Fellowship to E.E.M., and a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Discovery Grant (#238458-01) and University of Alberta Chair’s Research Allowance to M.W.C.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde, Rosenstein 1, 70191, Stuttgart, Germany

    Erin E. Maxwell

  2. Museum für Naturkunde, Invalidenstrasse 43, 10115, Berlin, Germany

    Erin E. Maxwell

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E9, Canada

    Michael W. Caldwell

  4. St. Joseph’s College, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2J5, Canada

    Denis O. Lamoureux

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  1. Erin E. Maxwell
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Correspondence to Erin E. Maxwell.

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Maxwell, E.E., Caldwell, M.W. & Lamoureux, D.O. Tooth histology, attachment, and replacement in the Ichthyopterygia reviewed in an evolutionary context. Paläontol Z 86, 1–14 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-011-0115-z

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