Abstract
Corrosion patterns induced by gastric fluids on the skeleton of prey animals may depend on the nature of the corrosive agents (acid, enzymes) as well as on the composition of the hard parts and the soft tissues that surround them. We propose a framework for predicting and interpreting corrosion patterns on lizard teeth, our model system, drawing on the different digestive pathways of avian and non-avian vertebrate predators. We propose that high-acid, low-enzyme systems (embodied by mammalian carnivores) will lead to corrosion of the tooth crowns, whereas low-acid, high-enzyme systems (embodied by owls) will lead to corrosion of the tooth shafts. We test our model experimentally using artificial gastric fluids (with HCl and pepsin) and feeding experiments, and phenomenologically using wild-collected owl pellets with lizard remains. Finding an association between the predictions and the experimental results, we then examine corrosion patterns on nearly 900 fossil lizard jaws. Given an appropriate phylogenetic background, our focus on physiological rather than taxonomic classes of predators allows the extension of the approach into Deep Time.
Highlights
Corrosion patterns induced by gastric fluids on the skeleton of prey animals may depend on the nature of the corrosive agents as well as on the composition of the hard parts and the soft tissues that surround them
We address the following questions: (1) Is the proposed framework for digestive corrosion on lizard teeth, and the corrosion sequences, borne out by the experiments, and if so, what implications does this have for experimental digestion in taphonomy? (2) How can the results be applied to actual Quaternary assemblages, with the goal of identifying predators in a taxonomic sense, and what additional studies could further this aim? (3) How can the results be applied to older assemblages, where the likely accumulator is extinct? (4) What can we infer about the evolution of digestive strategies on the basis of our literature review and experiments?
Cases in which two corrosion patterns are simultaneously shown by the same jaw were extremely rare, and they could be explained as the result of a trend where the lizard jaws were sufficiently complete to study intrajaw variation
Summary
Corrosion patterns induced by gastric fluids on the skeleton of prey animals may depend on the nature of the corrosive agents (acid, enzymes) as well as on the composition of the hard parts and the soft tissues that surround them. We propose a framework for predicting and interpreting corrosion patterns on lizard teeth, our model system, drawing on the different digestive pathways of avian and non-avian vertebrate predators. The localization of corrosion on a prey skeleton, might vary depending on the nature of the corrosive agent (acid, proteases), the behavior and digestive physiology of the predator, the composition of the hard parts, and the soft tissue that surrounds them. In this paper we develop a new conceptual framework for predicting and interpreting digestive corrosion on lizard teeth, our model system This framework exploits differences in the digestive pathways of avian vs mammalian predators and serves several purposes. It is a first step in understanding and explaining corrosion phenomena in lizards. We discuss digestive strategies of avian and non-avian vertebrate predators in light of the results
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