The Tooth of Perfection: Functional and Spatial Constraints on Mammalian Tooth Shape

Comparisons of Models to Mammalian Teeth
 
 
Comparisons between the models and real mammalian tooth forms. L-R. Model tools: A, single-bladed tools, symmetrical (2i) and asymmetrical (2ii); B, double-bladed tools (3i, 3ii, 4ii). Mammalian tooth forms: C, lower carnassials of Felis catus (Carnivora: Felidae) and Mustela frenata (Carnivora: Mustelidae); C, premolar of F. catus; E, lower molars of Tenrec ecaudatus (Insectivora: Tenrecidae), Didelphis virginiana (Didelphimorphia: Didelphidae) and Chalinolobus gouldii (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae), and upper molar of Desmana moschata (Insectivora: Talpidae). Scale bar is 1 mm.


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Alistair Evans, May 2003