Evolution and Classification of the Pocket Gophers of the Subfamily GeomyinaeRussell, Robert J.
Science
Evolution and Classification of the Pocket Gophers of the Subfamily Geomyinae
Russell, Robert J.
Pocket gophers
(2) The occlusal surfaces are ground down to a level where the enamel
loops of the two columns join at their mid-points, thus forming an
H-shaped pattern (Fig. 4B), or more exactly a pattern resembling a
figure 8. Probably this was the primitive pattern in the final stage
of wear in the geomyid ancestor of the Oligocene.
[Illustration: FIG. 3. Diagram depicting geologic range and probable
phyletic relationships of the family Geomyidae. Dashed lines represent
parts of lineages that are not represented by fossil records, and
solid lines represent parts of lineages verified by actual specimens.
Question marks indicate uncertainty of suggested ancestry of known
taxa. The relationships within the subfamily Entoptychinae are
modified after Wood (1936), and the temporal range of the Miocene
geomyids have been adjusted to agree with current stratigraphic
correlations. Hence, _Pleurolicus_, _Gregorymys_ and _Dikkomys_ are
illustrated as ranging into the Hemingfordian, rather than being
confined to the Arikareean (see MacDonald, 1963, and Black, 1961).]
(3) In the pre-final stage of wear, the anterior and posterior lophs
of the first and second molars unite secondarily at the edge of their
protomeres (labial side in the lower and lingual in the upper), thus
enclosing an isolated enamel fossette (Fig. 4C). Lateral union occurs
in the lower teeth because the vertical depth of the labial re-entrant
angle is less than the depth of the lingual re-entrant fold. In the
upper teeth the reverse is true. The re-entrant angle on one side of
the premolar is as deep vertically as the angle on the other side of
that tooth, and both reach the base of the crown; therefore, they do
not disappear at any stage of attrition. The same pertains in the
third lower molar.
(4) In the final stage of wear (Fig. 4D), the enamel fossette
disappears as a result of continued attrition on the occlusal surface
in the upper series. The fossette may vary somewhat in vertical depth
in m1 and m2, but the amount of wear required for its effacement would
be greater than in the upper teeth. Therefore, upon wear, the
U-pattern would become characteristic of the final stage in M1 (and
probably also M2), but the modified H-pattern described in Fig. 4C
would prevail in m1 and m2. Perhaps, in extremely worn teeth, the
labial fossette of m1 and m2 would disappear. If this advanced stage
of effacement is obtained, then the two columns would be united across
the entire surface of their protomeres from the center of the crown to
its labial edge, and the occlusal pattern would be in the shape of a
U.
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