Department of Basic Science, Touro University, Vallejo, California.
Department of Anthropology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Am J Phys Anthropol. 2020 Mar;171(3):439-455. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.24000. Epub 2020 Jan 10.
This study seeks to determine if (a) consumption of hard food items or a mixture of food items leads to the formation of premolar or molar microwear in laboratory capuchin monkeys (Sapajus apella) in one feeding session and (b) rates of microwear formation are associated with the number of food items consumed.
Five adult male capuchins were used in two experiments, one where they were fed unshelled Brazil nuts, and the other where they were fed a mixture of food items. Dental impressions were taken before and after each feeding session. Epoxy casts made from those impressions then were used in SEM analyses of rates of microwear formation. Upper and lower premolars and molars were analyzed. Qualitative comparisons were made and Spearman's rank-order correlations used to examine the relationship between rates of microwear formation and number of Brazil nuts consumed.
Premolars and molars generally showed new microwear in the form of pits and scratches. However, the incidence of those features was low (0-6%). Rates of microwear formation were highest during the consumption of Brazil nuts.
Variations in the rate of microwear formation on the premolars likely reflected patterns of ingestion whereas consistency in the rate of microwear on the molars likely reflected patterns of chewing. While dental microwear formation seemed to be correlated with the number of hard objects consumed, rates did differ between individuals. Differences in results between the two experiments demonstrate some of the limitations in our knowledge of dental microwear formation.
本研究旨在确定（a）在一次进食过程中，食用硬食物或混合食物是否会导致前磨牙或磨牙产生微观磨损，以及（b）微观磨损形成的速度是否与所消耗的食物数量有关。
在两个实验中使用了五只成年雄性卷尾猴，一个实验中它们被喂食去壳的巴西坚果，另一个实验中它们被喂食混合食物。在每次进食前后都采集了牙齿印模。然后，使用这些印模制作的环氧树脂铸型进行 SEM 分析，以确定微观磨损形成的速度。分析了上、下前磨牙和磨牙。进行了定性比较，并使用 Spearman 等级相关检验来检验微观磨损形成速度与巴西坚果消耗量之间的关系。
前磨牙和磨牙通常表现出新的微观磨损形式，如凹坑和划痕。然而，这些特征的发生率较低（0-6%）。在食用巴西坚果时，微观磨损形成的速度最高。
前磨牙微观磨损形成速度的变化可能反映了摄取模式，而磨牙微观磨损形成速度的一致性可能反映了咀嚼模式。虽然牙釉质微观磨损形成似乎与硬物体的数量有关，但个体之间的速度确实存在差异。两个实验结果的差异表明，我们对牙釉质微观磨损形成的认识存在一些局限性。
