Subterranean Fishes of the World

4881

2015

The FASEB Journal

700.2

29(S1)

The interactions between bone and tooth development are poorly understood and largely understudied. Although the teleost lower jaw (mandible) has been described morphologically, this information has not been quantified and the upper jaw (premaxilla) has largely been ignored in the literature. The purpose of this study is to understand how jaw shape and tooth presence/absence correlate with one another. We describe the development of the jaw bones of two related teleosts, one with extensive dentition (Mexican tetra; Astyanax mexicanus) and the other without oral teeth (Zebrafish; Danio rerio). We collected a growth series for each species, used an acid‐free double stain to visualise the skeleton, and then analyzed samples using outline shape analyses. Differences between species were observed throughout growth. Variation in bone shape was detected along the occluding edge of the premaxilla, as well as the rostral and caudal most regions of the mandible. In the premaxillae, this variation was statistically significant between adult Mexican tetra and zebrafish, while for the mandible only the caudal region had significant shape differences. This study provides insights into the potential cross talk between bone and tooth development, providing essential information in the field of vertebrate anatomy and evolution. This research was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

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