Dental Occlusion in a 260-Million-Year-Old Therapsid with Saber Canines from the Permian of Brazil

2011/03/24 by Juan Carlos Cisneros, Fernando Abdala, Bruce S. Rubidge +2 · 2 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Social Sciences · #Evolution and Paleontology Studies #Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology #Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology

paper · doi:10.1126/science.1200305

openalex publication_date 2011/03/24 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23

Abstract

Anomodonts, a group of herbivorous therapsid "mammal-like reptiles," were the most abundant tetrapods of the Permian. We present a basal anomodont from South America, a new taxon that has transversally expanded palatal teeth and long saber canines. The function of the saber teeth is unknown, but probable uses include deterring attack from predators and intraspecific display or combat. The complex palatal teeth were used to process high-fiber food and represent early evidence of dental occlusion in a therapsid. This discovery provides new insight into the evolution of heterogeneous dentition in therapsids and broadens our understanding of ecological interactions at the end of the Paleozoic.

Citations

• The origin and early radiation of the therapsid mammal-like reptiles: a palaeobiological hypothesis
• The Permian mammal-like herbivoreDiictodon, the oldest known example of sexually dimorphic armament

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• Many-to-one function of cat-like mandibles highlights a continuum of sabre-tooth adaptations
• Inostrancevia [wikipedia]