Form, function, and tissue proportions of the mustelid carnassial molar

Mustelids are an ecologically diverse group of mammals that span several dietary niches. Compared to other mammalian clades, however, less is known about how the morphology of the dentition reflects these dietary differences. The following examines dental form in the beech marten (Martes foina), the river otter (Lontra canadensis), the wolverine (Gulo gulo), and the sea otter (Enhydra lutris). Lower carnassial molar morphology is examined using methods for dental topographic analysis, enamel thickness measurement, and pulp volume measurement to assess this form-function relationship. It is predicted that mustelids will covary in their dental form with their diet, where dental topography will reflect the reliance on tough or soft foods, enamel thickness will vary as a product of hard-object feeding, and pulp volume will vary as a product of dietary abrasiveness/hard-object feeding. Results suggest that mustelid dental form reflects the dietary ecology of each species; however, pulp volume does not covary with diet as it does in anthropoid primates, for example. These animals represent a morphocline of increasing specialization in carnassial form leading from the plesiomorphic marten to the highly specialized sea otter. These results provide further evidence of convergence among mammals where molar form is largely driven by diet. These results also provide insight into how taxa such as the sea otter and wolverine are adapted to dealing with diets that include bivalves and bones, respectively, through decreased dental topography and thickened enamel.

Duke Scholars

Author Keegan Rayne Selig Evolutionary Anthropology