Dear MARMAM subscribers:
We are pleased to announce the publication of the following paper in Archives of Oral Biology: Dental wear in dolphins (Cetacea: Delphinidae) from southern Brazil Carolina Loch and Paulo C. Simões-Lopes doi: 10.1016/j.archoralbio.2012.08.002 Volume 58, Issue 2, February 2013, Pages 134–141 Abstract(1) Dental wear is a common phenomenon in mammals. Its occurrence is influenced by tooth anatomy, animal physiology, biomechanics and behaviour. So far, investigations of dental wear in cetaceans have been scanty and superficial. We compare the frequencies of occurrence, location and intensity of dental wear in some species of dolphins from southern Brazil, South Atlantic Ocean. (2) Teeth of ten species were evaluated using a stereoscopic microscope to identify wear facets, which were classified according to location, anatomical position and wear intensity. (3) Frequencies of dental wear were high for all species with exception of Delphinus capensis, with less than 50% of teeth worn. Simultaneous wear facets in the apex and lateral of teeth were more common than facets restricted to the apex or lateral faces. Wear on the dental crown was more common, but some species showed less frequent wear down to the cingulum or root level. Superficial wear seems to be the general trend for dolphins, but Stenella coeruleoalba and Pseudorca crassidens showed a higher frequency of severe wear. Only for Tursiops truncatus the frequencies of wear were significantly different between males and females. When considering the ontogeny of dental wear, only for T. truncatus and Stenella frontalis indexes of dental wear were correlated with body length. (4) Whether dental wear has implications or not in fitness and feeding behaviour, severely worn teeth may expose the pulp cavity and increase the susceptibility to local infections.KeywordsDental crown; Marine mammals; Occlusion; Ontogeny; Wear intensity; Teeth Full text is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.archoralbio.2012.08.002 Or alternatively, a pdf can be requested at: [email protected] Best regards, MSc. Carolina Loch Silva PhD Candidate Geology Department, University of Otago Dunedin 9054, New Zealand http://www.otago.ac.nz/geology/people/students/loch/index.html & Laboratório de Mamíferos Aquáticos UFSCFlorianópolis, SC - Brasil
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