Dental microwear of a basal ankylosaurine dinosaur, Jinyunpelta and its implication on evolution of chewing mechanism in ankylosaurs.

ABSTRACT: Jinyunpelta sinensis is a basal ankylosaurine dinosaur excavated from the mid Cretaceous Liangtoutang Formation of Jinyun County, Zhejiang Province, China. In the present study, its dental microwear was observed using a confocal laser microscope. Jinyunpelta had steep wear facets that covered most of buccal surfaces of posterior dentary teeth. Observation of dental microwear on the wear facet revealed that scratch orientation varied according to its location within the wear facet: vertically (i.e. apicobasally) oriented scratches were dominant in the upper half of the wear facet, and horizontally (i.e. mesiolaterally) oriented ones were in the bottom of the facet. These findings indicated that Jinyunpelta adopted precise tooth occlusion and biphasal jaw movement (orthal closure and palinal

SUBMITTER: Kubo T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7946176 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature