The better to eat you with: functional correlates of tooth structure in bats

Abstract

Summary 1.Mammalian dental morphology and function are strongly linked to diet. Within mammals, phyllostomid bats are the most diverse family in terms of dietary ecology and thus represent a unique opportunity in which to investigate relationships between diet, tooth structure, feeding performance and behaviour. 2. Previous studies have focused on how specific aspects of dental morphology relate to diet. Here we use a comprehensive approach to describe 3D dental topography through a measure called dental complexity. Using phyllostomids as a model system, we investigate the functional significance of molar complexity with respect to prey breakdown of insect-eating species. We generated complexity data from 3D laser scans of molars from 17 species. We quantified feeding performance (ability to break down insects) and behaviour (number of chews) by conducting feeding experiments on 11 species using native prey. 3. Frugivores were found to have the highest molar complexity, which is related to biting into and crushing fruit pulp. Lower complexity of insectivore and omnivore molars can be related to the presence of crests specialized for shearing insect exoskeleton. Increases in the complexity of these shearing teeth translated into higher performance in prey breakdown (smaller exoskeleton particles), but chewing behaviour also played an important functional role. 4. Our results highlight the importance of morphology and behaviour in determining feeding performance, which potentially contributes to resource partitioning within this diverse group of mammals.

Bayesian hierarchical models suggest oldest known plant-visiting bat was omnivorous

“…This is also consistent with dental similarities between Palynephyllum and the known omnivore Hylonycteris [17]. Modest molar crests are present in other nectarivorous bats that feed on insects [6,7]. The models suggest the ecological niche for this large, omnivorous nectarivore has persisted since at least the mid-Miocene.…”

“…The models suggest the ecological niche for this large, omnivorous nectarivore has persisted since at least the mid-Miocene. The La Venta fauna of Colombia (11.6-13.5 Ma) is one of the most diverse Cenozoic vertebrate fossil biotas [6]. Eight animalivorous bat species have been discovered [7], implying a diversity of dietary niches were already exploited.…”

“…Teeth are so abundant in the fossil record that a substantial portion of extinct mammals are known only from their molars [4]. One mammalian molar can provide enough characters to infer both the phylogeny and diet of the species it represents [5,6].…”

Flexibility in locomotor-feeding integration during prey capture in varanid lizards: effects of prey size and velocity

“…Rodriguez-Robles et al, 1999;Ferry-Graham et al, 2002;Van Cakenberghe et al, 2002;Metzger and Herrel, 2005;Santana et al, 2010;Hampton, 2011;Perry et al, 2011), teeth (e.g. Hotton, 1955;Herrel et al, 1997;Herrel et al, 2004;Santana et al, 2011;Kupczik and Stynder, 2012), hyolingual apparatus (e.g. Bels et al, 1994;Schwenk, 2000;Bels, 2003;Meyers and Herrel, 2005;Schwenk and Rubega, 2005; and digestive track (O'Grady et al, 2005;Herrel et al, 2008;Griffen and Mosblack, 2011).…”

A New Family of Large Omnivorous Bats (Mammalia, Chiroptera) from the Late Eocene of the Fayum Depression, Egypt, with Comments on Use of the Name “Eochiroptera”

“…Dental Morphology and Diet: The structure of teeth in the mammalian dentition is highly correlated with diet (Freeman, 1984(Freeman, , 1988(Freeman, , 1998(Freeman, , 2000Evans et al, 2007;Ungar, 2010;Santana et al, 2011a). For bats, researchers have long distinguished "animal-eating" or "animalivorous" taxa from those that feed partly or entirely on plant products (Freeman, 1984(Freeman, , 1998(Freeman, , 2000Norberg and Fenton, 1988;Rex et al, 2010, Santana et al, 2011b.…”