Hypsodonty in Mammals
Evolution, Geomorphology, and the Role of Earth Surface Processes

This book explores the central importance of soil ingestion and earth surface processes in driving the evolution of tooth shape in mammals.

Richard H. Madden (Author)

9781107012936, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 11 December 2014

443 pages, 79 b/w illus. 50 tables
25.3 x 18 x 2.5 cm, 1.02 kg

'Madden has provided us with an abundance of evidence here that summarily makes the phytolith assumption dead. Through many case studies and reviews of carefully done studies of correlation and causation … Madden has made it an essential concern for those doing research on dental wear to consider the environmental context, including the composition of and access to naturally occurring abrasives, as part of their assumptions of what causes wear. … Much of the data included in this book is not published elsewhere, making this a primary source.' Complex Adaptive Systems Modeling

The evolution of high-crowned teeth, hypsodonty, is a defining characteristic of many terrestrial herbivores. To date, the most prominent focus in the study of the teeth of grazing herbivores has been co-evolution with grasses and grasslands. This book develops the idea further and looks at the myriad ways that soil can enter the diet. Madden then expands this analysis to examine the earth surface processes that mobilize sediment in the environment. The text delivers a global perspective on tooth wear and soil erosion, with examples from the islands of New Zealand to the South American Andes, highlighting how similar geological processes worldwide result in convergent evolution. The final chapter includes a review of elodonty in the fossil record and its environmental consequences. Offering new insights into geomorphology and adaptive and evolutionary morphology, this text will be of value to any researcher interested in the evolution of tooth size and shape.

Preface
Acknowledgements
1. Hypsodonty in South America
2. Hypsodonty in the South American fossil record
3. South America and global hypsodonty
4. Excess tooth wear in New Zealand
5. Soil erosion, soil ingestion and tooth wear in Australia
6. Crown height and tooth wear on islands
7. The East African Plio-Pleistocene
8. The middle Cenozoic of Patagonia
9. Ever-growing teeth
10. Summary and conclusions
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Palaeontology [RBX], Primates [PSVW79], Zoology: Mammals [PSVW7], Zoology & animal sciences [PSV], Evolution [PSAJ], Biology, life sciences [PS], Anthropology [JHM]