High-resolution CT-scan data reveals the tooth replacement pattern of the Late Jurassic tyrannosauroid Guanlong wucaii(Dinosauria,Theropoda)
The Tyrannosauridae,which is characterized by specialized pachydont dentition and putative bone-cracking predatory strategies,is one of the most extensively studied theropod lineages.Although tooth replacement patterns,crucial for understanding feeding behaviors,have been thoroughly studied in this group,studies on non-tyrannosaurid tyrannosauroids are relatively scarce.This study utilizes high-resolution CT data to investigate the tooth replacement pattern in two specimens of Guanlong wucaii,a Late Jurassic tyrannosauroid,and provides insights into the evolution of tooth replacement across Tyrannosauroidea.Second-generation replacement teeth,a rarity observed mainly in giant predatory theropods(e.g.some tyrannosaurids),were detected in the dentary dentition of the juvenile Guanlong.Zahnreihen reconstructions display a consistent cephalad alternating tooth replacement pattern in the maxilla and the dentary of both of the examined individuals,with Z-spacing values exceeding 2.0.As Guanlong grows,the Z-spacing value in the maxillary dentition increases,resembling the ontogenetic changes documented in the Tyrannosauridae.Additionally,like Tarbosaurus,Guanlong also displays a discontinuity between the tooth replacement waves at the premaxilla-maxilla boundary.This study thus demonstrates that some tyrannosaurid-like tooth replacement patterns were acquired before the origin of the Tyrannosauridae.
Late JurassicTyrannosauroideatooth replacement3D reconstruction
国家科技期刊平台
NSTL
万方数据
