Mammalian Teeth

Preface (p. 7)

Teeth are the hardest and most durable parts of the mammalian body. Even after millions of years they provide a wealth of paleobiologic information. Teeth reflect the interaction of a mammal with the environment, as evident from their shape and traces of mastication on their surface. Teeth provide information on the diet, mode of food processing, biomechanics of mastication, and energy gain. Modern analytical techniques such as micro-computed tomography, high-resolution surface analysis, and 3D imaging have greatly boosted the research on dental function in recent years. They reveal sub-microscopic surface structures such as striations and micro-textures in great detail, providing insight into dietary adaptations of long-extinct mammalian clades. The shortcomings of 2D imaging that formerly have hampered the depiction of complex occlusal relationships have been overcome by 3D analysis and virtual modelling of the chewing cycle with the Occlusal Fingerprint Analyser (OFA) software.

The DFG Research Unit 771 “Function and performance enhancement in the mammalian dentition – phylogenetic and ontogenetic impact on the masticatory apparatus” has been active since 2008, with groups at the University of Bonn, the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, the Zoological Museum of the University of Hamburg and the Natural History Museum in Stockholm. In the framework of Research Unit 771 an interdisciplinary group of researchers from paleontology, zoology, anthropology, animal nutrition and biomechanics bundled their expertise and efforts for the study of the function of the mammalian dentition. Results of the Research Unit have been presented and discussed at various conferences and at the international workshop “Abrasion and Attrition: Traces of Mastication in Fossil Mammals”, held in Mayschoß (Ahr Valley) in 2014.

The book “Mammalian Teeth – Form and Function” is a synopsis of the achievements of Research Unit 771 which have been published in more than 100 technical papers in many different journals. In order to make the general results more accessible for non-specialists, they have been cast in 12 chapters arranged according to four major research areas: Occlusion and Wear, Mastication and Jaw Mechanics, Ontogeny and Heterochrony, and Evolutionary Changes. These chapters are based on the published papers of the Research Unit, which are marked with an asterisk (*) in the respective reference lists.

The German Research Foundation (DFG) has generously funded Research Unit 771 and the publication of this book, which is gratefully acknowledged. We also would like to thank the following colleagues for agreeing to act as reviewers and for their constructive comments: Marcus Clauss, Zurich; Alistair Evans, Melbourne; Mikael Fortelius, Helsinki; Madeleine Geiger, Zurich; Helder Gomez-Rodriguez, Paris; Dave Grossnickle, Seattle; Luke Holbrook, Glassboro; Christine Janis, Bristol; Stephan Lautenschlager, Birmingham; Vincent Lazzari, Poitiers; Peter Lucas, Kuwait City; Zhe-Xi Luo, Chicago; Peder Nørgaard, Copenhagen; Florent Rivals, Tarragona; Gordon Sanson, Melbourne; Angela Schwarm, Ås; Gina Semprebon, Longmeadow; Carsten Staszyk, Gießen; Mark Teaford, Vallejo; Jessica Theodor, Calgary; Jack Tseng, Buffalo; and Indrë Žliobaitė, Helsinki. We are grateful to Friedrich Pfeil and Hubert Hilpert from Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil (Munich) for the high standard get-up and excellent print quality of the book.

Bonn, November 2020

Thomas Martin and Wighart von Koenigswald, editors