The researchers at\u00c2\u00a0 Johns Hopkins School of Medicine\u00c2\u00a0reported on an initial examination of the function of the shape of canine teeth in primates.This is the first published comparative analysis of canine strength for primates.”Understanding more about the function of canine teeth can lead to new models for understanding human evolution” said Michael Plavcan,who has been studying primate teeth and skulls for 24 years and spent four years collecting dental data for this analysis.<\/p>\n
Among anthropoid primates, it is well known that the canine teeth of males are up to four times as long as those of females. Hominids \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the primate family that produced humans \u00e2\u20ac\u201c retain body mass sexual dimorphism; that is, males typically have a greater body mass size than females. At the same time, the difference in size in canine teeth between males and females is lost.\u00e2\u20ac\u0153This goes back to the earliest hominids,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Plavcan said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153In fact, one of the few diagnostic characteristics of hominid evolution is reduction in canine size dimorphism while maintaining strong body mass dimorphism.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Sounds like a subject to sink\u00c2\u00a0your teeth into (If you pardon the Pun) \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The researchers at\u00c2\u00a0 Johns Hopkins School of Medicine\u00c2\u00a0reported on an initial examination of the function of the shape of canine teeth in primates.This is the first published comparative analysis of canine strength for primates.”Understanding more about the function of canine … Continue reading