Dental ontogeny in extinct synapsids reveals a complex evolutionary history of the mammalian tooth attachment system

This study shows for the first time that the ligamentous tooth attachment system is not unique to crown mammals within Synapsida, having arisen in several non-mammalian therapsid clades as a result of neoteny and progenesis in dental ontogeny. Mammalian tooth attachment is here re-interpreted as a paedomorphic condition relative to the ancestral synapsid form of tooth attachment.

Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences - November 7, 2018 Category: Biology Authors: LeBlanc, A. R. H., Brink, K. S., Whitney, M. R., Abdala, F., Reisz, R. R. Tags: palaeontology, evolution Palaeobiology Source Type: research