Primate Dental Morphology Essay

Studying primate dentition is a relatively old topic. There have been many studies conducted to find more information on primate dental morphology. The research is conducted to try and distinguish the relationship between diet and primate dentition. Primate teeth have several functions, but their primary function is the mastication of food. Their dental morphology reflects the various functions demanded by the variety of food types—shearing, chopping, grinding. Generally, incisors function chiefly for cutting, canines for grasping and piercing, and premolars and molars for chewing. Primate diets like: fruits, leaves, and insects, require specialized dentitions. Primates with specialized dental morphologies corresponding to their diets can be placed into one of three categories: insectivore, folivore, or frugivore. Many primate families have similar dental morphology analogous to what category they are in: insectivore, fulivore, or frugivore. Family Lemuridae are mainly insectivores, Family Pongidae are primarily folivores, while Family Homindae are omnivores. Most Families are also frugivores when fruit is in season.
Incisors, known as the anterior teeth, function primarily to prepare food items for mastication. Primates use their incisors to grab food items and reduce them in size by nipping, slicing, or
They are less variable in shape and number. Most canines are tall, pointed, or conical shaped. The canines are generally larger than the incisors or premolars. In most primates, male canines are larger than females as a result of sexual dimorphism. Many anthropoid’s canines, like the Family Pongidae, are sharpened on the posterior side by the canine diastema every time they close their mouths; making them dagger-like, allowing them to puncture and slice food items upon impact. Canines get their name because of their dagger-like shape—“canine” meaning the dog