Pleurodont

Pleurodont is a form of tooth implantation common in reptiles of the order Squamata, as well as in at least one temnospondyl.^[1] The vestibular (outer) side of pleurodont teeth are fused (ankylosed) to the inner surface of the jaw bones which host them. The lingual (tongue) side of pleurodont teeth are not attached to bone, and instead are typically held in place by connective ligaments. This contrasts with thecodont implantation, in which the teeth are set in sockets and surrounded by bone on all sides.^[2][3][4]

Various squamate jaws viewed from the inside, showing pleurodonty

References

1. Damiani, Ross; Steyer, J. SéBastien (2005). "A giant brachyopoid temnospondyl from the Upper Triassic or Lower Jurassic of Lesotho". Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France. 176 (3): 243–248. doi:10.2113/176.3.243 – via ResearchGate.
2. Plough, F. H. et al. (2002) Vertebrate Life, 6th Ed. Prentice Hall Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. ISBN 0-13-041248-1
3. Smith, Hobart M. (1958). "Evolutionary Lines in Tooth Attachment and Replacement in Reptiles: Their Possible Significance in Mammalian Dentition". Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science. 61 (2): 215–225. doi:10.2307/3626649. JSTOR 3626649.
4. "THE TEETH OF VERTEBRATE ANIMALS". University of the Cumberlands. Retrieved 2016-08-16.

External links

• Tooth Implantation at palaeos.com
• Oral Cavity of Reptiles - Anatomy and Physiology