There has long been interest in comparing the biology of placental and marsupial mammals, and how distinct traits relate to adaptations and convergent eco-morphological niches in different parts of the world. One trait of interest is the pattern of tooth replacement.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnlike humans, or dogs or many other animals that have a baby set and second adult set of teeth, we know that Tasmanian devils only have one set that serves them through their entire lives,\u201d said University of Tasmania\u2019s Professor Menna Jones, author of the study.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen a Tasmanian devil joey is very young it has very small teeth that fit its small body.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTasmanian devils are weaned from their mothers when they\u2019re just one-third of their adult size, and it\u2019s at this point they have to become independent and feed themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead of losing time changing over to a set of adult teeth like humans do, the Tasmanian devil\u2019s teeth simply \u2018erupt\u2019 gradually out of their jaws and gums, pushing further and further out to fill the Tasmanian devil\u2019s larger mouth and head, allowing the growing animal to hold meat and prey and defend itself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a very cool fact about a very cool species, and it shows a completely different evolutionary solution to having teeth in growing animals than what we\u2019re familiar with.\u201d<\/p>\n
The same phenomenon is seen in quolls and thylacines locally, and also in some ancient marsupial species like giant borhyaenids and saber tooths from South America.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis information helps researchers to determine the age of animals that they are studying, including those monitored in the wild for Tasmanian devil facial tumor research,\u201d Professor Jones said.<\/p>\n
The study was published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.<\/p>\n
Menna E. Jones. 2023. Over-eruption in marsupial carnivore teeth: compensation for a constraint. Proc. R. Soc. B 290 (2013): 20230644; doi: 10.1098\/rspb.2023.0644<\/p>\n