Wear biomechanics in the slicing dentition of the giant horned dinosaur
            <i>Triceratops</i>

Erickson, Gregory M.; Sidebottom, Mark A.; Kay, David Ian; Turner, Kevin T.; Ip, Nathan; Norell, Mark A.; Sawyer, W. Gregory; Krick, Brandon A.

doi:10.1126/sciadv.1500055

Cited by 53 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…As peritubular dentine is harder than intertubular dentine [38], an increase in dentine tubules would increase the hardness of the dentine directly below the DEJ. This agrees with reports of elevated hardness in mantle dentine in hadrosaurs [2] and ceratopsians [3], even though mantle dentine is typically softer than primary dentine [39]. Therefore, the derived condition of hard dentine at the DEJ in ornithischians is a combination of the lack of globular mantle dentine and the increased density of narrow dentine tubules.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…The hardness and elasticity of dentine can change depending on the angle of the dentine tubules within the dentinal matrix [30]. Considering the unique wear patterns formed in ornithischian tooth batteries and the increased hardness of dentine at the DEJ, ornithischian teeth were well adapted for grinding plant material [2,3,11]. The elastic properties of mantle dentine [39], absent in ornithischians but present in saurischians, probably protected the teeth of carnivorous theropods from fracture during feeding on prey items.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All specimens show varying amounts of peritubular and intertubular dentine. Some specimens show a fossilized infill within each tubule (figure 5c), which explains that the bright THG signals in fossilized dentine tubules could only result from the nonlinear susceptibility x (3) of the mineral infillings and the interfaces created by the different properties and sizes of the mineral particles in the tubules [17]. A high amount of branching is present in Triceratops (figure 5b).…”

Section: Third Harmonic Generation Microscopy and Scanning Electron Mmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dietary adaptions in the ultrastructure of dinosaur dentine

Brink

Chen

et al. 2016

J. R. Soc. Interface.

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Teeth are key to understanding the feeding ecology of both extant and extinct vertebrates. Recent studies have highlighted the previously unrecognized complexity of dinosaur dentitions and how specific tooth tissues and tooth shapes differ between taxa with different diets. However, it is unknown how the ultrastructure of these tooth tissues contributes to the differences in feeding style between taxa. In this study, we use third harmonic generation microscopy and scanning electron microscopy to examine the ultrastructure of the dentine in herbivorous and carnivorous dinosaurs to understand how the structure of this tissue contributes to the overall utility of the tooth. Morphometric analyses of dentinal tubule diameter, density and branching rates reveal a strong signal for dietary preferences, with herbivorous saurischian and ornithischian dinosaurs consistently having higher dentinal tubule density than their carnivorous relatives. We hypothesize that this relates to the hardness of the dentine, where herbivorous taxa have dentine that is more resistant to breakage and wear at the dentine-enamel junction than carnivorous taxa. This study advocates the detailed study of dentine and the use of advanced microscopy techniques to understand the evolution of dentition and feeding ecology in extinct vertebrates.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Third Harmonic Generation Microscopy and Scanning Electron Mmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dietary adaptions in the ultrastructure of dinosaur dentine

Brink

Chen

et al. 2016

J. R. Soc. Interface.

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“…Both Varriale () and Mallon and Anderson (), as in the current study, noted slight differences within ceratopsids as well, such as between centrosaurines and chasmosaurines. Erickson et al () also showed that the complex microscopic tissues in ceratopsian dentitions possessed novel recessed central regions along the slicing surface, which would have helped reduce friction during occlusion.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolutionary Trends in the Jaw Adductor Mechanics of Ornithischian Dinosaurs

Nabavizadeh

2016

The Anatomical Record

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Jaw mechanics in ornithischian dinosaurs have been widely studied for well over a century. Most of these studies, however, use only one or few taxa within a given ornithischian clade as a model for feeding mechanics across the entire clade. In this study, mandibular mechanical advantages among 52 ornithischian genera spanning all subclades are calculated using 2D lever arm methods. These lever arm calculations estimate the effect of jaw shape and difference in adductor muscle line of action on relative bite forces along the jaw. Results show major instances of overlap between taxa in tooth positions at which there was highest mechanical advantage. A relatively low bite force is seen across the tooth row among thyreophorans (e.g., stegosaurs and ankylosaurs), with variation among taxa. A convergent transition occurs from a more evenly distributed bite force along the jaw in basal ornithopods and basal marginocephalians to a strong distal bite force in hadrosaurids and ceratopsids, respectively. Accordingly, adductor muscle vector angles show repeated trends from a mid-range caudodorsal orientation in basal ornithischians to a decrease in vector angles indicating more caudally oriented jaw movements in derived taxa (e.g., derived thyreophorans, basal ornithopods, lambeosaurines, pachycephalosaurs, and derived ceratopsids). Analyses of hypothetical jaw morphologies were also performed, indicating that both the coronoid process and lowered jaw joint increase moment arm length therefore increasing mechanical advantage of the jaw apparatus. Adaptive trends in craniomandibular anatomy show that ornithischians evolved more complex feeding apparatuses within different clades as well as morphological convergences between clades. Anat Rec, 299:271-294, 2016. V C 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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“…Studies in dental microscopic wear of basal ceratopsians shows considerable variability in wear orientation (e.g., “clinolineal” in psittacosaurids [Sereno et al, ]; palinal in Archaeoceratops and other basal ceratopsians [Varriale, ]); however, this has been suggested to show a plausible trend toward the more complex orthopalinal feeding seen in ceratopsids (Varriale, ). The tooth battery in ceratopsids has a complex internal structure (Erickson et al, ) and is secondarily mesiodistally straighter (although not perfectly), oriented parallel to its counterpart. The tooth rows in ceratopsids (convergent in hadrosaurids) extend farther distally, medial to the coronoid process, which both elongates the tooth row and provides greater mechanical advantage in occlusion (Ostrom, ; Tanoue et al, ; Mallon and Anderson, ; Nabavizadeh, ).…”

Section: Marginocephaliamentioning

confidence: 99%

The Predentary Bone and Its Significance in the Evolution of Feeding Mechanisms in Ornithischian Dinosaurs

Nabavizadeh

Weishampel

2016

The Anatomical Record

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The characteristic predentary bone in ornithischian dinosaurs is a unique, unpaired element located at the midline of the mandibular symphysis. Although traditionally thought to only be a plant "nipping" bone, the true functional significance of this bone among feeding mechanisms of ornithischian dinosaurs is poorly known. Recent studies of a select few ornithischian genera have suggested rotation of the mandibular corpora around their long axes relative to their midline joint articulation with the predentary bone. This study aims to re-evaluate these hypotheses as well as provide in-depth qualitative comparative descriptions of predentary bone morphology in ornithischian genera throughout all subclades, including heterodontosaurids, thyreophorans, ornithopods, and marginocephalians. Descriptions evaluate overall shape of the predentary, its articular surfaces contacting the rostral ends of the dentaries, and the morphology of the rostral extent of the dentaries and their midline symphysis. Functionally relevant morphologies in each predentary morphotype are accentuated for further speculation of feeding mechanisms. Three predentary morphotypes are described throughout ornithischian subclades and each plays a unique role in feeding adaptations. Most notably, the predentary likely evolved as a midline axial point of the mandibular symphysis for simultaneous variable movement or rotation of the mandibular corpora in many, but not all, taxa. This simultaneous movement of the hemimandibles would have aided in feeding on both sides of the jaw at once. The function of the predentary as well as other jaw adaptations is discussed for genera throughout all subclades, focusing on both general shape and joint morphology. Anat Rec, 299:1358-1388, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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Wear biomechanics in the slicing dentition of the giant horned dinosaur Triceratops

Abstract: Triceratops developed complex dental morphology, allowing it to become a dominant herbivore in the late Mesozoic era.

Cited by 53 publications

References 37 publications

Dietary adaptions in the ultrastructure of dinosaur dentine

Dietary adaptions in the ultrastructure of dinosaur dentine

Evolutionary Trends in the Jaw Adductor Mechanics of Ornithischian Dinosaurs

The Predentary Bone and Its Significance in the Evolution of Feeding Mechanisms in Ornithischian Dinosaurs

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