The secrets of lemur teeth

Godfrey, Laurie R.; Schwartz, Gary T.; Samonds, Karen E.; Jungers, William L.; Catlett, Kierstin K.

doi:10.1002/evan.20102

Cited by 31 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…A diet of C 4 bulbs or corms is consistent with the strong C 4 signal provided by carbon isotope analyses of Hadropithecus material [10,14,15,39]. Among other primates, USOs of grasses are processed by baboons whose molars have enamel comparable in relative thickness to that of Hadropithecus [40].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

The Hadropithecus conundrum reconsidered, with implications for interpreting diet in fossil hominins

2011

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The fossil 'monkey lemur' Hadropithecus stenognathus has long excited palaeontologists because its skull bears an astonishing resemblance to those of robust australopiths, an enigmatic side branch of the human family tree. Multiple lines of evidence point to the likelihood that these australopiths ate at least some 'hard', stress-limited food items, but conflicting data from H. stenognathus pose a conundrum. While its hominin-like craniofacial architecture is suggestive of an ability to generate high bite forces, details of its tooth structure suggest that it was not well equipped to withstand the forces imposed by cracking hard objects. Here, we use three-dimensional digital reconstructions and finite-element analysis to test the hard-object processing hypothesis. We show that Archaeolemur sp. cf. A. edwardsi, a longerfaced close relative of H. stenognathus that lacked hominin convergences, was probably capable of breaking apart large, stress-limited food items, while Hadropithecus was better suited to processing small, displacement-limited (tougher but more compliant) foods. Our suggestion that H. stenognathus was not a hardobject feeder has bearing on the interpretation of hominin cranial architecture; the features shared by H. stenognathus and robust australopiths do not necessarily reflect adaptations for hard-object processing.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

The Hadropithecus conundrum reconsidered, with implications for interpreting diet in fossil hominins

2011

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“…The only possible disadvantage for folivores is that as habitat fragmentation proceeds and forest edges are created, folivores will tend to be attracted to these edges, Schwartz et al [2002Schwartz et al [ , 2005, Godfrey et al [2005Godfrey et al [ , 2006b, Jungers et al [2005; in press].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Of giant lemurs, the Archaeolemuridae appear to have had the most prolonged life histories (at least with regard to dental development). The larger-bodied M. edwardsi and P. ingens show considerably more rapid dental development, contrasting sharply in this manner with like-sized anthropoids [Godfrey et al, 2006b]. It is noteworthy, also, that the frugivorous lemurids showing high vulnerability to habitat loss today reproduce more rapidly than do the more resilient and more folivorous indriids, again regardless of body size [Godfrey et al, 2004a].…”

Section: From the Past Working Forwardmentioning

confidence: 93%

The Evolution of Extinction Risk: Past and Present Anthropogenic Impacts on the Primate Communities of Madagascar

Godfrey¹,

Irwin²

2007

IJFP

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There are two possible approaches to understanding natural and human-induced changes in the primate communities of Madagascar. One is to begin with present-day and recent historic interactions and work backwards. A second is to begin with paleoecological records of Malagasy primate communities before and immediately following human arrival, and the associated evidence of human and nonhuman primate interactions, and work forwards. On the basis of biological and climatic studies, as well as historic and ethnohistoric records, we are beginning to understand the abiotic and biotic characteristics of Madagascar’s habitats, the lemurs’ ecological adaptations to these unique habitats, the extent of forest loss, fragmentation and hunting, and the differential vulnerability of extant lemur species to these pressures. On the basis of integrated paleoecological, archaeological and paleontological research, we have begun to construct a detailed chronology for late prehistoric Madagascar. We are beginning to understand the complex sequence of events that led to one of the most dramatic recent megafaunal extinction/extirpation events. Combining the perspectives of the past and the present, we see a complex set of interactions affecting an initially rich but vulnerable fauna. The total evidence refutes any simple, unicausal (e.g. hunting/habitat destruction/climate change) explanation of megafaunal extinctions, yet unequivocally supports a major role – both direct and indirect – for humans as the trigger of the extinction process. It also supports a change over time in the relative importance of hunting versus habitat loss, and in the trophic characteristics of the primate communities in Madagascar.

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“…Current methods rely on estimating the age at the emergence of the first permanent molar [Kelley et al, 2001;Kelley and Smith, 2003;Schwartz et al, 2005;Godfrey et al, 2006;Macchiarelli et al, 2006;Catlett et al, 2010], which correlates statistically with weaning and other life history variables in a number of primate species [Smith, 1989[Smith, , 1992Smith et al, 1994]. However, this works best for comparisons at broad taxonomic levels and does not always reflect specific differences in the timing of life history variables in closely related taxa, those with intraspecific variation in life histories related to habitat quality, or those in which weaning does not occur at the emergence of the first molar [Godfrey et al, 2001;Dirks and Bowman, 2007;Guatelli-Steinberg, 2009;Humphrey, 2009].…”

Section: Foliamentioning

confidence: 99%

The Relationship of Accentuated Lines in Enamel to Weaning Stress in Juvenile Baboons (Papio hamadryas anubis)

Dirks¹,

Humphrey²,

Dean³

et al. 2010

IJFP

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Weaning conflict may represent an evolutionary conflict of interest between parent and offspring, an honest signal of need on the part of a weanling, or both. Accentuated lines visible in histological sections of teeth are indicators of stress during enamel formation and have been hypothesised to form in baboon teeth during weaning. We analysed growth increments in 5 tooth sections from 2 Ugandan baboons (Papio hamadryas anubis), using polarised light microscopy, to determine when stresses occurred during the weaning process. Dietary transitions were reconstructed using normalised strontium intensities (Sr/Ca) in enamel. Accentuated lines were cross-matched between teeth from the same animal and plotted by month. The highest frequency of stress was experienced at around 6 months in 1 baboon, coinciding with an inferred reduction in suckling frequency, and at 11 months in another, coinciding with the inferred cessation of suckling. Because accentuated lines appear to indicate weaning stress at dietary transitions, weaning conflict may represent an honest signal of need on the part of the weanling.

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The secrets of lemur teeth

Cited by 31 publications

References 51 publications

The Hadropithecus conundrum reconsidered, with implications for interpreting diet in fossil hominins

The Hadropithecus conundrum reconsidered, with implications for interpreting diet in fossil hominins

The Evolution of Extinction Risk: Past and Present Anthropogenic Impacts on the Primate Communities of Madagascar

The Relationship of Accentuated Lines in Enamel to Weaning Stress in Juvenile Baboons (Papio hamadryas anubis)

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