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Thin-sectioning of fossil material of the dicynodont Endothiodon from Iziko South African Museum, Cape Town

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Proposed thin-sectioning of fossils of jaw fragments of the South African dicynodont Endothiodon collected from the Karoo Basin of South Africa and housed at the Iziko South African Museum (Karoo Palaeontology), Cape Town. The thin-sectioning will be done to examine the growth of Endothiodon teeth using histological analysis. Only if results of analysis are positive for tooth enamel, then enamel will be collected from one tooth per specimen for isotope analysis. Western Cape.

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PROJECT TITLE: The palaeobiology* of the dicynodont Endothiodon bathystoma from the late Permian of the Karoo Basin of South Africa *The chapter of project relevant to this application is the "Dentition of Endothiodon". PROJECT DETAILS: This project is part of my NRF-funded PhD work being conducted from 2018 to 2020. One of my three main data chapters is to examine the dentition of South African Endothiodon specimens. Endothiodon is a dicynodont from the late Permian period, and it is one of the most enigmatic dicynodonts known, due to its unusual pattern of inner tooth rows arranged in replacement waves. It seemed to have a highly specialised feeding system evolved for herbivory. The Iziko South African Museum in Cape Town houses several Endothiodon fossils, three of which are of interest for my study (SAM-PK-K11221, SAM-PK-K11134 and SAM-PK-10642). All three of these specimens are broken jaw fragments with teeth preserved, providing an excellent opportunity to examine exactly how these teeth functioned in this animal. Details of the specimens have been uploaded separately. The project entails two methods of examining dentition viz. histology (bone microstructure) and, possibly, isotope analysis, depending on whether enamel has been preserved on the teeth. The justification for this is that simple morphological studies of Endothiodon dentition has been conducted previously, but no histological studies on Endothiodon dentition have been done. A detailed analysis of the animal’s inner tooth and jaw structure will give us much more information on how the teeth grew, and exactly how they were used. Furthermore, carbon and oxygen isotope analysis has been used previously on Permian and Triassic therapsid genera but not on Endothiodon. This type of analysis will provide further information on the dietary behaviour and palaeoenvironment of Endothiodon. This project aims to firstly determine how the morphology and microstructure of Endothiodon teeth, as well as its feeding system (occlusion and mastication) allowed it to consume the vegetation present during the End-Permian; and secondly, to determine what kind of vegetation it consumed. METHODOLOGY: Note on material: SAM-PK-K11221, SAM-PK-K11134 and SAM-PK-10642: are jaw pieces which already fragmented, so no whole skull specimens will be damaged. None of these are holotypes. Data recording & CT-scanning: Once the permit is granted, the fossil jaw fragments will first be micro-CT scanned at the Stellenbosch scanner facility in order to produce 3D images of the specimens. This will allow as much of the tooth structure embedded in the bone to be examined and described as possible. The arrangement of teeth in Endothiodon has been described as replacement waves or Zahnreihen and this study will observe the “tooth patterns” present in different specimens. Tooth patterns can be defined in this case as the number of rows of teeth observed on each side (right or left) on each jaw (upper or lower). Depending on the type of preservation in a specimen, it is sometimes possible to see projections on the longitudinal posterior side of the teeth. These structures have been described as serrations, but our assessment will enable a distinction of whether they are serrations or denticles. From a preliminary examination of the fragments, only a few fragments have distinct denticles visible on the teeth. Micro-CT scanning the specimens will enable us to examine and describe this feature clearly, allowing us to deduce its function. Histology: These methods will be closely guided by my PhD supervisor Prof. Anusuya Chinsamy-Turan, who is well-experienced in fossil histological work. The analysis will be destructive, and sections will be made of the jaw fragments in our Palaeobiology lab at the UCT. Methods will be carried out according to Chinsamy and Raath (1992), i.e. specimens will be embedded in epoxy resin and dried; thereafter the embedded bone will be sectioned with a rock-cutting machine with water-cooled diamond-studded blade; the cut surface will then be ground and the stub of bone will be mounted onto a slide for viewing under a light microscope. The microstructure will be examined and analysed. Furthermore, the teeth will be examined under the microscope for the presence of enamel. If present, enamel will be used in the following method. Carbon and oxygen isotope analysis: If enamel is present, the following isotope method will be carried out at the Archaeology Department (UCT) as used by Botha et al. (2005): a small amount will be drilled from one of the teeth on the jaw in bands parallel to the occlusal surface. Any pretreatment will depend on how much enamel is available. Thereafter, post-depositional carbonates will be removed from the fossil powder with buffered acetic acid. CO2 will be obtained by acid hydrolysis and the isotopic ratios will be determined in a mass spectrometer. EXPECTED OUTCOMES: This work will answer my research question: What can the tooth morphology and structure inform us about how the feeding system of Endothiodon worked, and what kind of vegetation it fed on? It is hypothesized that the specialized dentition of Endothiodon enabled adaptations for herbivory which allowed it to survive the end-Guadalupian extinction, which has been seen from biostratigraphic evidence. REFERENCES: Botha J, Lee-Thorp J, Chinsamy A. 2005. The palaeoecology of the non-mammalian cynodonts Diademodon and Cynognathus from the Karoo Basin of South Africa, using stable light isotope analysis. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 223(3–4):303–316. Chinsamy A, Raath MA. 1992. Preparation of fossil bone for histological examination. Palaeont afr. 29:39–44.

ApplicationDate: 

Wednesday, January 9, 2019 - 14:16

CaseID: 

13337

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