The Teeth of Non-Mammalian Vertebrates

Abstract

The Teeth of Non-Mammalian Vertebrates is the first comprehensive publication devoted to the teeth and dentitions of living fishes, amphibians and reptiles. The book presents a comprehensive survey of the amazing variety of tooth forms among non-mammalian vertebrates, based on descriptions of approximately 400 species belonging to about 160 families. The text is lavishly illustrated with more than 600 high-quality color and monochrome photographs of specimens gathered from top museums and research workers from around the world, supplemented by radiographs and micro-CT images. This stimulating work discusses the functional morphology of feeding, the attachment of teeth, and the relationship of tooth form to function, with each chapter accompanied by a comprehensive, up-to-date reference list. Following the descriptions of the teeth and dentitions in each class, four chapters review current topics with considerable research activity: tooth development; tooth replacement; and the structure, formation and evolution of the dental hard tissues. This timely book, authored by internationally recognized teachers and researchers in the field, also reflects the resurgence of interest in the dentitions of non-mammalian vertebrates as experimental systems to help understand genetic changes in evolution of teeth and jaws. Features more than 600 images, including numerous high-quality photographs from internationally-recognized researchers and world class collections Offers guidance on tooth morphology for classification and evolution of vertebrates Provides detailed coverage of the dentition of all living groups of non-mammalian vertebrates.