ENEVOLVE · A novel approach to characterizing prismless enamel in modern and fossil reptiles

A novel approach to characterizing prismless enamel in modern and fossil reptiles

ENEVOLVE is a multi-disciplinary study of the properties of dental enamel in living and extinct reptiles through beyond-state-of-the-art techniques. Palaeontologists have long used teeth to interpret the diets of extinct species. As the hardest parts of the vertebrate body, teeth are the most likely to be preserved in the fossil record, and their use in palaeontology relies on extrapolating tooth shape, structure, and function in living animals to similar fossil analogues. While extant-to-extinct comparisons work well for mammals, because of an already detailed understanding of the material properties of mammal dental tissues, the same cannot be said for the teeth of reptiles. Reptiles have much thinner, structurally simpler enamel with poorly understood material properties in most living species, let alone in fossil groups. Enamel is also unique among dental tissues in that it is unable to re-grow or regenerate once it is worn away. As such, enamel structure and chemistry in most vertebrates has likely been under intense selection to optimize its function. Understanding how structurally simpler forms of enamel – like those of reptiles – cope with the stresses and strains of different diets would not only improve palaeontologists’ ability to interpret tooth form and function in the fossil record, but could lead to bio-inspired solutions for artificial enamel regrowth in humans. In order to better understand tooth form and function in living and extinct reptiles, ENEVOLVE used advanced X-ray, mass spectrometry, and electron-based imaging, as well as nanomechanical testing to reveal the material properties of key tooth morphotypes in reptiles. These included the serrated cutting teeth of tyrannosaurid dinosaurs and Komodo dragons, the piercing and crushing teeth of living and fossil crocodiles and their relatives, and the grinding teeth of reptilian herbivores. The Research Objectives (ROs) of ENEVOLVE are to (1) characterize the spatial distribution and composition of the dental hard tissues in modern and fossil teeth of specific morphotypes; (2-3) quantify enamel and dentine crystal structure and chemical composition in extant tooth morphotypes and some of their extinct analogues; (4) identify structure-function relationships in reptile enamels.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз