Metric variability of the postcanine dentition in colobus monkeys.

Abstract

AbstractThe postcanine dentition of three species of colobus monkeys (Colobus polykomos polykomos, Procolobus badius badius and Procolobus verus) is compared metrically for three characters: interdental relations, sexual dimorphism and interspecific relations. Interdental relations reveal that the postcanine teeth represent a single morphogenetic field, which supports Butler's concept on the nature of the differentiation and variability of mammalian dentition. However, comparisons of the coefficients of variation show that interdental differences are not significant, except in a few cases. Also, sex differences in variability are not significant. However, comparisons of the means reveal highly significant sex differences, particularly in the dimensions of the first lower premolar in all three species. The analysis of interspecific relations of the postcanine dentition supports the current idea about the systematics of colobus monkeys. The findings are discussed with comparative data from other cercopithecoids and hominoids.