Dental replacement in Mesozoic birds: evidence from newly discovered Brazilian enantiornithines.

ABSTRACT: Polyphyodonty-multiple tooth generations-in Mesozoic birds has been confirmed since the nineteenth century. Their dental cycle had been assessed through sparse data from tooth roots revealed through broken jawbones and disattached teeth. However, detailed descriptions of their tooth cycling are lacking, and the specifics of their replacement patterns remain largely unknown. Here we present unprecedented µCT data from three enantiornithine specimens from the Upper Cretaceous of southeastern Brazil. The high resolution µCT data show an alternating dental replacement pattern in the premaxillae, consistent with the widespread pattern amongst extinct and extant reptiles. The dentary also reveals dental replacement at different stages. These results strongly suggest that an alternating pattern w

SUBMITTER: Wu YH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8484441 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature