Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-gb8f7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T13:46:27.469Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Quantitative Variation in Elephant Dentitions: Implications for the Delimitation of Fossil Species

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 April 2016

V. Louise Roth
V. Louise Roth*
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27706
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Dental measurements are commonly used in the diagnosis of fossil elephant species, yet elephant teeth develop slowly, within a highly dynamic context that enhances opportunities for physical deformation (or its subtler manifestation, quantitative phenotypic variation). This paper examines intraspecific variation in elephant teeth and compares it with variability in other mammals (83 species in 7 orders). I conclude that (1) male elephants tend to have slightly larger cheek teeth than females, though the difference is not marked; (2) of the full complement of six cheek teeth per jaw quadrant, no single tooth consistently varies less than the others (so on this basis, for taxonomic decisions no tooth is preferable to the customarily used M3 = tooth VI); (3) single-population samples vary less than more inclusive, geographically heterogeneous samples of elephant teeth; (4) although differential wear and eruption are important sources of variation in dental measurements, complete elephant teeth are consistently more variable in length and width than the cheek teeth of other mammals; (5) variability in dental dimensions of recognized fossil species of elephants is in general not grossly inconsistent with variability noted in modern elephants, but there are some exceptions. With the information and guidelines presented here, consideration of variability, and assessment of the statistical power permitted by available samples, can enhance confidence and precision in the delimitation of species and provide a firmer basis for macroevolutionary inferences.

Type
Research Article
Information
Paleobiology , Volume 18 , Issue 2 , March 1992 , pp. 184 - 202
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Literature Cited

Beden, M. 1979. Les éléphants (Loxodonta et Elephas) d'Afrique orientale: systématique, phylogénie, intérět biochronique. Thèse de Doctorat d'État. L'Université de Poitiers, France.Google Scholar
Beden, M. 1983. Family Elephantidae. Pp. 40–129In Harris, J. M., ed. Koobi Fora research project, vol. 2. Clarendon Press, Oxford.Google Scholar
Cooke, H.B.S. 1947. Variation in the molars of the living African elephant and a critical revision of the fossil Proboscidea of Southern Africa. American Journal of Science 245: 434–457, 492–517.Google Scholar
Domning, D. P., and Hayek, L.-A.. 1984. Horizontal tooth replacement in the Amazonian manatee (Trichechus inunguis). Mammalia 48: 105–127.Google Scholar
Elder, W. H., and Rodgers, D. H.. 1968. Age and growth of elephants. A study in the Luangwa Valley, 1965-1967. African Wild Life 22: 281–293.Google Scholar
Eisenmann, V. 1980. Les chevaux (Equus sensu lato) fossiles et actuels: crǎnes et dents jugales supérieures. Pp. 1–186In Lehman, J. P., ed. Cahiers de Paléontologie. Editions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris.Google Scholar
Eisenmann, V. 1981. Etude des dents jugales inférieures des Equus (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) actuels et fossiles. Palaeovertebrata 10: 127–226.Google Scholar
Fortelius, M. 1985. Ungulate cheek teeth: developmental, functional, and evolutionary interrelations. Acta Zoologica Fennica 180: 1–76.Google Scholar
Gingerich, P. D. 1974. Size variability of the teeth in living mammals and the diagnosis of closely related sympatric fossil species. Journal of Paleontology 48: 895–903.Google Scholar
Gingerich, P. D. 1985. Species in the fossil record: concepts, trends, and transitions. Paleobiology 11: 27–41.Google Scholar
Gingerich, P. D., and Schoeninger, M. J.. 1979. Patterns of tooth size variability in the dentition of primates. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 51: 457–466.Google Scholar
Gingerich, P. D., and Winkler, D. A.. 1979. Patterns of variation and correlation in the dentition of the red fox, Vulpes vulpes. Journal of Mammalogy 60: 691–704.Google Scholar
Gould, S. J., and Eldredge, N.. 1977. Punctuated equilibria: the tempo and mode of evolution reconsidered. Paleobiology 3: 115–151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gould, S. J., and Garwood, R. A.. 1969. Levels of integration in mammalian dentitions: an analysis of correlations in Nesophontes micrus (Insectivora) and Oryzomys couesi (Rodentia). Evolution 23: 276–300.Google Scholar
Guenther, E. W. 1955. Mißbildungen an den Backenzähnen diluvialer Elefanten. Meyniana, Kiel 3: 12–35.Google Scholar
Guthrie, R. D. 1965. Variability in characters undergoing rapid evolution, an analysis of Microtus molars. Evolution 19: 214–233.Google Scholar
Haldane, J.B.S. 1955. The measurement of variation. Evolution 9: 484.Google Scholar
Hooijer, D. A. 1947. On fossil and prehistoric remains of Tapirus from Java, Sumatra and China. Zoologische Mededelingen (Leiden) 27: 253–295.Google Scholar
Hooijer, D. A. 1950. The fossil Hippopotamidae of Asia, with notes on the Recent species. Zoologische Verhandelingen (Rijks-museum van Natuurlijke Historie te Leiden) 8: 3–124.Google Scholar
Kubiak, H. 1965. Examples of abnormalities in the dentition of fossil elephants. Folia Quaternaria (Kraków) 19: 45–61.Google Scholar
Kurtén, B. 1953. On the variation and population dynamics of fossil and Recent mammal populations. Acta Zoologica Fennica 76: 1–122.Google Scholar
Kurtén, B. 1964. The evolution of the polar bear, Ursus maritimus Phipps. Acta Zoologica Fennica 108: 1–26.Google Scholar
Kurtén, B. 1966. Pleistocene bears of North America I. Genus Tremarctos, spectacled bears. Acta Zoological Fennica 115: 3–120.Google Scholar
Kurtén, B., and Rausch, R.. 1959. A comparison between Alaskan and Fennoscandian wolverine (Gulo gulo Linnaeus). Acta Arctica 11: 6–20.Google Scholar
Lande, R. 1977. On comparing coefficients of variation. Systematic Zoology 26: 214–217.Google Scholar
Lark, R. M. 1984. A comparison between techniques for estimating the ages of African elephants (Loxodonta africana). African Journal of Ecology 22: 69–91.Google Scholar
Laws, R. M. 1966. Age criteria for the African elephant Loxodonta a. africana. East African Wildlife Journal 4: 1–37.Google Scholar
Lewontin, R. C. 1966. On the measurement of relative variability. Systematic Zoology 15: 141–142.Google Scholar
Madden, C. T. 1981. Mammoths of North America. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation. University of Colorado, Boulder.Google Scholar
Maglio, V. J. 1971. The nomenclature of intermediate forms: an opinion. Systematic Zoology 20: 370–373.Google Scholar
Maglio, V. J. 1973. Origin and evolution of the Elephantidae. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 63: 1–149.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McDonald, J. 1981. North American bison: their classification and evolution. University of California Press, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Miller, R. G. 1966. Simultaneous statistical inference. McGraw-Hill, New York.Google Scholar
Minkoff, E. C. 1983. Evolutionary biology. Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass.Google Scholar
Mishler, B. D., and Brandon, R. N.. 1987. Individuality, pluralism, and the phylogenetic species concept. Biology and Philosophy 2: 37–54.Google Scholar
Mishler, B. D., and Donoghue, M. J.. 1982. Species concepts: a case for pluralism. Systematic Zoology 31: 491–503.Google Scholar
Moss, C. J. 1983. Oestrous behaviour and female choice in the African elephant. Behaviour 86: 167–196.Google Scholar
Olson, E. C., and Miller, R. L.. 1958. Morphological integration. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.Google Scholar
Osborn, H. F. 1942. Proboscidea. Volume 2. American Museum Press, New York.Google Scholar
Otte, D., and Endler, J. A., eds. 1989. Speciation and its consequences. Sinauer, Sunderland, Mass.Google Scholar
Pengilly, D. 1984. Developmental versus functional explanations for patterns of variability and correlation in the dentitions of foxes. Journal of Mammalogy 65: 34–43.Google Scholar
Rees, J. W. 1969. Morphologic variation in the cranium and mandible of the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus): a comparative study of geographical and four biological distances. Journal of Morphology 128: 95–112.Google Scholar
Roth, V. L. 1989. Fabricational noise in elephant dentitions. Paleobiology 15: 165–179.Google Scholar
Roth, V. L., and Shoshani, J.. 1988. Dental identification and age determination in Elephas maximus. Journal of Zoology (London) 214: 567–588.Google Scholar
Seilacher, A. 1973. Fabricational noise in adaptive morphology. Systematic Zoology 22: 451–465.Google Scholar
Sher, A. V., and Garutt, V. E.. 1985. On the method of identification of molars [sic] generations in elephants. In Vereshchagin, N. K. and Kuzmina, I. E. eds. Mammals of Northern Eurasia during Quaternary. Proceedings of the Zoological Institute of the U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences, Leningrad 131: 93–103.Google Scholar
Sikes, S. K. 1967. The African elephant, Loxodonta africana: a field method for the estimation of age. Journal of Zoology (London) 154: 235–248.Google Scholar
Simpson, G. G. 1945. Notes on Pleistocene and Recent tapirs. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 86: 37–81.Google Scholar
Simpson, G. G. 1953. The major features of evolution. Columbia University Press, New York.Google Scholar
Sokal, R. R., and Braumann, C. A.. 1980. Significance tests for coefficients of variation and variability profiles. Systematic Zoology 29: 50–66.Google Scholar
Sokal, R. G., and Rohlf, F. J.. 1981. Biometry. W. H. Freeman, New York.Google Scholar
Stanley, S. M. 1979. Macroevolution: pattern and process. W. H. Freeman, New York.Google Scholar
Van Valen, L. 1962. A study of fluctuating asymmetry. Evolution 16: 125–142.Google Scholar
Vrba, E. S. 1970. Evaluation of springbok-like fossils: measurement and statistical treatment of the teeth of the springbok, Antidorcas marsupialis marsupialis Zimmerman (Artiodactyla: Bovidae). Annals of the Transvaal Museum 26: 285–299.Google Scholar
Vrba, E. S. 1987. Ecology in relation to speciation rates: some case histories of Miocene-Recent mammal clades. Evolutionary Ecology 1: 283–300.Google Scholar
Wallace, J. T. 1968. Analysis of dental variation in wild-caught California house mice. American Midland Naturalist 80: 360–380.Google Scholar
Yablokov, A. V. 1974. Variability of mammals. Amerind, New Delhi.Google Scholar