Three-dimensional Molar Enamel Distribution And Thickness In Australopithecus And Paranthropus

Main Category: Biology / Biochemistry
Also Included In: Dentistry
Article Date: 04 Jun 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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Thick molar enamel is among the few diagnostic characters of hominins that are measurable in fossil specimens.

Despite a long history of study and characterisation of Paranthropus molars as relatively "hyper-thick," only a few tooth fragments and controlled planes of section (designed to be proxies of whole-crown thickness) have been measured.

Here we measure molar enamel thickness in Australopithecus africanus and Paranthropus robustus using accurate microtomographic methods, recording the whole-crown distribution of enamel.

Royal Society journal Biology Letters

Biology Letters publishes short, innovative and cutting-edge research articles and opinion pieces accessible to scientists from across the biological sciences. The journal is characterised by stringent peer-review, rapid publication and broad dissemination of succinct high-quality research communications.

www.publishing.royalsociety.org/biologyletters

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