| The Xenarthra includes the most intriguing mammals from the Cenozoic of South America: the glyptodonts (Cingulata) and the ground sloths (Tardigrada). Their masticatory apparatuses are diverse and peculiar, with a strongly reduced, hypselodont dentition that lacks enamel and displays different degrees of lobation. The goal of this study is to investigate the relationship between dental occlusal surface area (OSA) and diet, and other physiological factors in fossil xenarthrans. Over one hundred and fifty specimens, including living herbivorous epitherians and both extinct and living xenarthrans, were measured and photographed, and their OSA estimated and plotted against body mass. For most fossil xenarthrans OSA is smaller than expected for extant... |
