A novel approach to characterizing prismless enamel in modern and fossil reptiles

ended

ENEVOLVE is an interdisciplinary approach to test the tissue properties of dental enamel in living and extinct reptiles. This project addresses the need in functional morphology and palaeontology for quantitative methods that can characterize the structure and chemistry of prismless enamel, which caps the teeth of all non-mammalian vertebrates. Although structurally simpler than its mammalian counterpart, prismless enamel has evolved to cope with the forces of grasping and cutting through prey, crushing hard shells, and grinding plant material and it has persisted for over 300 million years. In order to assess how this enamel type has evolved to suit these disparate functions, we will integrate advanced structural, chemical, and mechanical analyses of modern and fossil reptile teeth from four dental morphotypes. By characterizing enamel under optical and electron microscopy, X-ray microdiffraction, and X-ray and vibrational spectroscopy, ENEVOLVE provides an innovative framework for describing the structural and chemical variation within prismless enamel associated with different tooth functions, and for teasing apart the key alterations resulting from fossilization. These techniques then provide valuable context for applying guided micro- and nanomechanical testing of prismless enamel, which will reveal how different prismless enamel structures and compositions help maintain teeth under different stresses. The framework and results stemming from ENEVOLVE will guide future form-function studies of mineralized tissues in vertebrates, but may also reveal new candidate structures for biomimetics and enamel restoration.