Dentition of the Ground Skink, Scincella lateralis (Sauria, Scincidae)

Abstract

Scanning electron microscopy was used to examine the morphology of the tooth crowns, and light microscopy was used to quantify the numbers and sizes of the teeth occurring on each of the major tooth-bearing bones of the ground skink, Scincella lateralis. In S. lateralis, monostichous, bicuspid teeth occur on the premaxilla, maxilla, and dentary but not on the pterygoid. No ontogenetic or sexual variation was observed in crown morphology. The sizes and numbers of teeth vary with respect to location, with dentary teeth much larger and more numerous than the teeth on the maxillary arcade. Body size was more frequently, positively correlated with tooth sizes and numbers than head width. In S. lateralis, a sexual dimorphism in the number of premaxillary teeth is present, and ontogenetic differences in tooth number and size also occur. This study represents the first complete description of