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PRIMATE DENTITION: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE TEETH OF NON-HUMAN PRIMATES

Daris R. Swindler
Professor Emeritus
Department of Anthropology
University of Washington, USA


Illustrated by
Robert M. George
Department of Biology
Florida International University, USA


Cambridge University Press 2002



FROM THE BACK COVER


Primate dentitions vary widely both between genera and between species within a genus. This book is a comparative dental
anatomy of the teeth of living non-human primates that brings together information from many disciplines to present the
most useful and comprehensive database possible in one consolidated text. The core of the book consists of comparative
morphological and metrical descriptions with analyses, reference tables and illustrations of the permanent dentitions
of 85 living primate species to establish a baseline for future investigations. The book also includes information on
dental microstructure and its importance in understanding taxonomic relationships between species, data on deciduous
dentitions, prenatal dental development and ontogenetic processes, and material to aid age estimation and life history
studies. Primate Dentition will be an important reference work for researchers in primatology, dental and physical
anthropology, comparative anatomy and dentistry as well as vertebrate paleontology and veterinary science.


Daris R. Swindler is Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University of Washington, Seattle. His main research
interests are in primate anatomy and dental studies of early primate dental development, comparative dental morphology
and odontometrics of living and fossil primates, and Pacific dental anthropology. He has written or edited seven previous
books including An Atlas of Primate Gross Anatomy: Baboon, Chimpanzee, and Man (1973) with C.D.Wood, The Dentition of
Living Primates (1976), Systematics, Evolution and Anatomy: Comparative Primate Biology Vol.1 (1986) with J. Erwin,
Paleontologia Umana, Evolazione, Addamento, Cu/tura (1996) with A. Drusini, and Introduction to the Primates (1998).



CONTENTS


Preface xiii


Acknowledgements xv


1. Introduction 1
Order Primates 1
Dental cast collection 1
Odontometry 4
Dental terminology 6


2. Dental anatomy 12
Anatomy 12
Enamel 14
Dentine 18
Cementum 19
Tooth roots 20
Dental pulp 20


3. Dental development 21
Heterodont dentitions 21
Genetics 22
Odontogenesis 23
Ontogeny of crown patterns 26
Age estimation 31
Sequence of initial stages of permanent tooth formation 35


4. The deciduous dentition 37
New World monkeys 37
Family Atelidae 37
Subfamily Atelinae 37
Old World monkeys 43
Family Cercopithecidae 43
Subfamily Cercopithecinae 43
Subfamily Colobinae 51
Great Apes 54
Family Pongidae 54


5. Prosimii 60
Superfamily Lemuroidea 60
Family Lemuridae 65
Family Lepilemuridae 70
Family Cheirogaleidae 73
Family Indriidae 77
Family Daubentoniidae 81
Superfamily Lorisoidea 84
Family Galagidae 84
Family Lorisidae 88
Superfamily Tarsioidea 92
Family Tarsidae 92


6. Ceboidea 96
Family Cebidae 96
Subfamily Callitrichinae 96
Subfamily Cebinae 103
Subfamily Aotinae 107
Family Atelidae 109
Subfamily Callicebinae 110
Subfamily Pitheciinae 112
Subfamily Atelinae 116


7. Cercopithecidae 123
Subfamily Cercopithecinae 126
Subfamily Colobinae 140


8. Hylobatidae 147


9. Pongidae 153


Appendix 1. Odontometry 165
Permanent teeth 166
Deciduous teeth 263


Appendix 2. Dental eruption sequences 270


Glossary 274
References 277
Taxonomic index 295



PREFACE


Since 1976, when I published the Dentition of Nonhuman Primates, much has happened in the field of dental anthropology,
creating a tremendous array of new information available to student and field researcher alike. This volume combines basic
material available to me then with knowledge gleaned from more recent research in an attempt to gather the most useful and
comprehensive data in one consolidated text.


The organization of the book is taxonomic, beginning with the prosimians and ending with the great apes. There is no
temporal aspect to the data presented. It is solely heuristic, not evolutionary, nor does the taxonomic organization of the
book intend to suggest in any way that the dentition of one group gave rise to that of another group.


Chapter 1 introduces the primates studied, organized in the Linnean system, i.e. a hierarchy of levels that group organisms
into larger and larger units (see Table 1.1). This chapter continues with a discussion of dental anatomy and terminology as
well as a section reporting recent information in the field of dental genetics. Several of the taxa presented have genera
and species names, or even hierarchical positions, different from those that they did several years ago. I have attempted
to follow the latest information regarding their rank and scientific names. However, primate classifications continue to
change, particularly at the family and genus levels; for example, Cercocebus albigena, the gray-checked mangabey, is now
considered to be Lophocebus albigena (Disotell, 1994, 1996). This chapter also details the extensive dental cast collection
used for much of the study and illustrations. In addition, the origin and usefulness of mammalian dental terminology is
discussed here.


Chapters 2, 3 and 4 present material not addressed in my earlier book. Chapter 2 contains recent information on the
microstructure (histology) of non-human primate teeth and the importance of this information for better understanding
taxonomic relationships among the taxa. Chapter 3 presents data on the prenatal development of non-human primate teeth in
several taxa, from initial calcification to crown completion, and considers some of the ontogenetic processes that play
such important roles in the growth and development of teeth as well as material for age estimations and life history
investigations. Chapter 4 offers morphologic and metric descriptions of the deciduous teeth of several taxa with comparative
discussions.


Morphological data were collected and measurements were made of the dental casts of each species. This material forms the
core of the remaining chapters, which, in turn, offer expanded analyses and tables and hand-drawn illustrations of upper
and lower dentitions of the various genera and species. One illustrator was employed, using actual specimens and the dental
casts, so as to provide consistency of detail and style useful for comparative studies. In Chapters 7 and 9, illustrations
and tables show the crown variables that occur on the lingual surface of the upper incisors as well as extra cusps on the
premolars and molars, and these will enhance the reader's ability to see and appreciate the magnitude of dental variability
among living non-human primates.


Odontometrics of both the deciduous and permanent teeth are presented in the odontometric appendix (Appendix 1). There is
also a tooth eruption appendix (Appendix 2) to facilitate finding the eruption sequences of many non-human taxa. There is
also a large amount of useful statistical data throughout this book on the incidence of various dental traits.


Many people have assiduously proofread the data several times, but mistakes are inevitable where so many morphological
details and statistical tables must be read and reread. I take full responsibility for any mistakes and hopefully, no major
error has found its way into the final publication.


Daris R. Swindler
Seattle, Washington
April, 2001



WHERE TO ORDER:


Cambridge University Press
40 West 20th Street
New York, NY 10011-4211, USA


Phone: 1-800-872-7423
Fax: 914-937-4712
Web site: http://www.cambridge.org


Price: $80.00(Hardbound) ISBN: 0-521-65289-8

URL: http://www.primate.wisc.edu/pin/review/dentition.html
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