EUTHERIAN MAMMALS Eutherian Mammals are classified into orders on the basis of dentition. It does not involve phylogeny.
Dinosaurs..?
TROPHIC TYPES FOUND AMONG EUTHERIAN MAMMALS Predators Flesh eaters Insectivores Scavengers Grazers Frugivores Nectar drinkers Strainers - Plankton
Early Insectivores Radiation of mammalian feeding habits
GENERALIZED MAMMALIAN DENTITION
TEETH Much of the adaptive success of mammals is related to teeth Mammals are the only vertebrates that masticate food Mammalian teeth are adapted for various diets There is a relationship between dentition and feeding pattern. It impacts shape and structure of jaw and associated musculature [temporal, masseter, and pterygoid muscles] Mammalian fossil record is typically teeth (and isolated jaws)
Cusp pattern of mammalian teeth
CARNIVORES Cat branch Cats Civets Hyenas Dogs Bears Dog/bear branch Red Panda Seal Sea lion
CARNIVORES
The fourth upper premolar and first lower molar in the jaws of many modern carnirora are enlarged and bladelike. Termed carnassial teeth, they are used for slicing and chopping.
Tiger Skull
Brachyodont & Bunodont teeth Omnivores Low-crowned teeth, is termed brachydont. Human teeth are brachydont & bunodont. Brachyodont teeth
OMNIVORES Pigs, bears, monkeys, man
Bunodont dentition Cusps are low and rounded. The figure shows upper cheek teeth of a young domestic pig; some bunodont dentition, such as human teeth, are simpler; others are more complex.
Hypsodonts Mammals that feed on rough substances are subject to rapid wear on their teeth. Many of these species have especially highcrowned teeth, that is, teeth that extend unusually far above the gumline, providing lots of extra material for wear. These teeth are called hypsodont. The teeth of cows and deer are hypsodont.
Lophodonts Herbivores must efficiently and thoroughly grind their food, which is many cases is hard and rough. The addition of hard enamel ridges to the teeth improves their grinding action. These teeth are called lophodont. Lophodont teeth have elongated ridges called lophs that run between cusps. The molars and premolars of tapir, manatees, and many rodents are lophodont. Extreme lophodonty is seen is modern elephants.
Lophodonts
HERBIVORES Grazers Horse LOPHODONT & HYPSODONT Perissodactyls have lophodont (ridged) teeth.
Special Dental Adaptations
Frugivore an animal that mainly eats fruit Fruit bat Pteropus, uses its sight and smell to find food. Fruit bats are nocturnal. They drink fruit juices by crushing the fruit in the mouth and pressing the tongue against the upper plate. Juice and soft pulp are swallowed, but the bat spits out the skin, hard pulp, and seeds in the form of a pellet. The usual diet consists of bananas, guavas, mangoes, papayas, flowers, nectar, pollen and sometimes leaves or bark.
Nectar bats feed on the nectar and pollen. Their long tongues enable them to reach deep within the flowers to obtain the nectar, much like hummingbirds. NECTAR FEEDERS Micro chiropterans
Vampire bats are the only mammals that feed exclusively on blood. The three species are all found in Central and South America. Two feed almost entirely on bird blood, but the common vampire bat feeds on the blood of mammals.
Homodonts Dolphins & Toothed Whales They are predators, feeding actively on fish and squid. They possess sharp teeth, usually in both jaws, used to catch their prey.
Humpback whale 14 m Baleen whales do not have teeth. They have baleen, which is made of Keratin, the same material as our fingernails or hair. These teeth are arranged like the teeth of a comb, The whales open their mouths to fill it with water. Then they force the water out of their mouths, and the mat on the inside of the baleen teeth catches plankton.
Gray whales are baleen whales. They feed in a number of ways, but are specially suited for bottom-feeding. The whale dives to the ocean floor, turns on its side, and sucks up a mouthful of sand and mud. With its short baleen, it filters out and eats tiny crab-like animals called amphipods, or worms that live in the muck.
Aardvark; Order Tubilidentata anteaters have long noses, long sticky tongues, and strong sharp claws, but they do not have any teeth.
Pangolin; Order Pholidota Armadillo; Order Edentata
Skull of ant giant eater
Non trophic functions of teeth