Galbany Jordi, Dotras Laia, Alberts Susan C, Pérez-Pérez Alejandro
Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
Folia Primatol (Basel). 2010;81(6):348-59. doi: 10.1159/000323588. Epub 2011 Feb 12.
We measured the molar size from a single population of wild baboons from Amboseli (Kenya), both females (n=57) and males (n=50). All the females were of known age; the males represented a mix of known-age individuals (n=31) and individuals with ages estimated to within 2 years (n=19). The results showed a significant reduction in the mesiodistal length of teeth in both sexes as a function of age. Overall patterns of age-related change in tooth size did not change whether we included or excluded the individuals of estimated age, but patterns of statistical significance changed as a result of changed sample sizes. Our results demonstrate that tooth length is directly related to age due to interproximal wearing caused by M2 and M3 compression loads. Dental studies in primates, including both fossil and extant species, are mostly based on specimens obtained from osteological collections of varying origins, for which the age at death of each individual in the sample is not known. Researchers should take into account the phenomenon of interproximal attrition leading to reduced tooth size when measuring tooth length for ondontometric purposes.
我们测量了来自安博塞利（肯尼亚）的一群野生狒狒的牙齿大小，包括雌性（n = 57）和雄性（n = 50）。所有雌性的年龄已知；雄性包括年龄已知的个体（n = 31）和年龄估计在2年内的个体（n = 19）。结果显示，两性牙齿的近远中长度均随年龄显著减小。无论我们纳入或排除年龄估计的个体，牙齿大小与年龄相关变化的总体模式都没有改变，但由于样本量的变化，统计显著性模式发生了改变。我们的研究结果表明，由于M2和M3压缩负荷导致的邻面磨损，牙齿长度与年龄直接相关。灵长类动物的牙齿研究，包括化石和现存物种，大多基于从不同来源的骨骼标本库获得的标本，样本中每个个体的死亡年龄未知。研究人员在为牙齿测量目的测量牙齿长度时，应考虑到邻面磨损导致牙齿尺寸减小的现象。
