Date: May 9, 2016
Source: University of Otago
A team of scientists using
techniques from the field of dentistry is shedding new light on the evolution
of walruses, fur seals and sea lions. The researchers have cast further doubt
on previous claims that an ancient 'killer walrus' was a marine mammal eater.
The multidisciplinary research team analyzed the internal structure of tooth
enamel in a fossil walrus from California, Pelagiarctos thomasi, and in teeth
of New Zealand fur seals and sea lions.
An Otago-led team of scientists
using techniques from the field of dentistry is shedding new light on the
evolution of walruses, fur seals and sea lions. The researchers have cast
further doubt on previous claims that an ancient "killer walrus" was
a marine mammal eater.
In a newly published article in
the international journal The Science of Nature the multidisciplinary
team of researchers report their analysis of the internal structure of tooth
enamel in a fossil walrus from California, Pelagiarctos thomasi, and in
teeth of modern pinnipeds the New Zealand fur seal and sea lion.
Study co-author Dr Carolina Loch
says this was the first time the enamel ultrastructure of fur seals and sea
lions, as well as the extinct walrus Pelagiarctos, was studied using
scanning electron microscopy.
"Pelagiarctos was
originally thought to have been a "killer walrus" that fed on large
prey such as other marine mammals, but we found it has an enamel layer
reasonably similar to that of modern New Zealand fur seals and sea lions, which
are fish and squid eaters," Dr Loch says.
The enamel structure the
researchers identified in Pelagiarctosmeant the walrus was unlikely to be
up to crunching through large bones without cracking its teeth -- suggesting
that it was a dietary generalist like the modern New Zealand pinnipeds studied,
she says.
Dr Loch says the study showed how
using techniques and methods commonly employed in dentistry can answer
questions with broader implications in the biology and evolution of animal
species.
"Features and structures of
the enamel layer have long been associated with differences in diet and tooth
usage among animals, and can also help in the understanding the relationships
among fossil and living species.
"Teeth are not only the
focus of modern dentistry, but also valuable tools for biologists,
archaeologists and paleontologists," Dr Loch says.
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