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Tooth chipping patterns in Paranthropus do not support regular hard food mastication

View ORCID ProfileIan Towle, Joel D. Irish, Carolina Loch
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.02.12.431024
Ian Towle
aSir John Walsh Research Institute, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
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  • For correspondence: ian.towle@otago.ac.nz
Joel D. Irish
bResearch Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology, School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, United Kingdom, L3 3AF
cEvolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in PaleoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, South Africa
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Carolina Loch
aSir John Walsh Research Institute, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
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Abstract

The paranthropines, including Paranthropus boisei and Paranthropus robustus, have often been considered hard-food specialists. The large post-canine teeth, thick enamel, and robust craniofacial features are often suggested to have evolved to cope with habitual mastication of hard foods. Yet, direct evidence for Paranthropus feeding behaviour often challenges these morphological interpretations. The main exception being antemortem tooth chipping which is still regularly used as evidence of habitual mastication of hard foods in this genus. In this study, data were compiled from the literature for six hominin species (including P. boisei and P. robustus) and 17 extant primate species, to analyse Paranthropus chipping patterns in a broad comparative framework. Severity of fractures, position on the dentition, and overall prevalence were compared among species. The results indicate that both Paranthropus species had a lower prevalence of tooth fractures compared to other fossil hominin species (P. boisei: 4%; P. robustus: 11%; Homo naledi: 37%; Australopithecus africanus: 17%; Homo neanderthalensis: 45%; Epipalaeolithic Homo sapiens: 29%); instead, their frequencies are similar to apes that masticate hard items in a non-regular frequency, including chimpanzees, gibbons, and gorillas (4%, 7% and 9% respectively). The prevalence is several times lower than in extant primates known to habitually consume hard items, such as sakis, mandrills, and sooty mangabeys (ranging from 28% to 48%). Comparative chipping analysis suggests that both Paranthropus species were unlikely habitual hard object eaters, at least compared to living durophage analogues.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

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The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted March 27, 2021.
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Tooth chipping patterns in Paranthropus do not support regular hard food mastication
Ian Towle, Joel D. Irish, Carolina Loch
bioRxiv 2021.02.12.431024; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.02.12.431024
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Tooth chipping patterns in Paranthropus do not support regular hard food mastication
Ian Towle, Joel D. Irish, Carolina Loch
bioRxiv 2021.02.12.431024; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.02.12.431024

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