MANDIBULAR AND DENTAL VARIATION AND THE EVOLUTION OF SUCTION FEEDING IN ODONTOCETI

@inproceedings{Werth2006MANDIBULARAD,
  title={MANDIBULAR AND DENTAL VARIATION AND THE EVOLUTION OF SUCTION FEEDING IN ODONTOCETI},
  author={Alexander J. Werth},
  year={2006}
}
Abstract Comprehensive morphometric analysis of osteological and necropsy specimens indicates that blunt heads and wide jaws, both of which create a more circular mouth opening and thus improve water flow for suction feeding, are common in Odontoceti and found in all families except freshwater river dolphins (Platanistoidea), which are exclusively long-snouted. Mandibular bluntness, here termed amblygnathy, correlates with dental reduction in odontocetes; there is a further association of… 
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143 Citations

Shape analysis of odontocete mandibles: Functional and evolutionary implications

Model goodness‐of‐fit tests indicate that mandibular foramina shapes, which appear conserved, evolved under a selective regime, possibly driven by sound reception requirements across Odontoceti.

Odontocete suction feeding: Experimental analysis of water flow and head shape

  • A. Werth
  • Biology
    Journal of morphology
  • 2006
Small‐gape suction could be used by odontocetes of all head and oral shapes to draw prey sufficiently close to the mouth for suction ingestion or grasping via dentition, and should profit by evolution of a rounder mouth opening through progressive shortening and widening of the rostrum and jaws.

The Cranial Osteology and Feeding Ecology of the Metriorhynchid Crocodylomorph Genera Dakosaurus and Plesiosuchus from the Late Jurassic of Europe

It is hypothesized that trophic specialisation enabled these two large-bodied species to coexist in the same ecosystem and is supported by Plesiosuchus manselii having a very large optimum gape, while Dakosaurus maximus possesses craniomandibular characteristics observed in extant suction-feeding odontocetes.

Enamel Microstructure in Cetacea: a Case Study in Evolutionary Loss of Complexity

Overall, more complex dental structure in extant and extinct cetaceans is associated with smaller, more numerous teeth in taxa that bite or grasp smaller, harder prey with longer, narrower jaws and have more oral processing.

Comparative anatomy and evolutionary history of suction feeding in cetaceans

Qualitative and qualitative hyoid and cranial data from 35 extant and 14 extinct cetacean species are incorporated into a multivariate principal component analysis and comparative phylogenetic analyses that indicate that suction feeding likely evolved once, early in cetACEan evolutionary history.

A toothless dwarf dolphin (Odontoceti: Xenorophidae) points to explosive feeding diversification of modern whales (Neoceti)

It is reported that a new fossil odontocete from the Oligocene of South Carolina that possesses adaptations for suction feeding: toothlessness and a shortened rostrum (brevirostry) and is the earliest obligate suction feeder within the Odontoceti.

A new odontocete (toothed cetacean) from the Early Miocene of Peru expands the morphological disparity of extinct heterodont dolphins

With its large size, robust rostrum and unusual dental morphology, and the absence of conspicuous tooth wear, Inticetus increases the morphological and ecological disparity of Late Oligocene–Early Miocene heterodont odontocetes.

Skull ontogeny and modularity in two species of Lagenorhynchus: Morphological and ecological implications

3D‐anatomical landmarks used to study the skull ontogeny of two closely related species suggest a functional importance of directional asymmetry from the beginning of postnatal life.

A New Beaked Whale (Odontoceti, Ziphiidae) from the Middle Miocene of Peru

Several morphological traits observed in Nazcacetus, including the reduction of teeth, the small temporal fossa, and the large hamular process, suggest that this taxon possessed the suction feeding capacities of Recent ziphiids, a specialization possibly related to the exploitation by the early ziphiid of a new ecological niche.

The biomechanical consequences of longirostry in crocodilians and odontocetes.

...

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