Comparative Dentition in Four Iguanid Lizards

Montanucci, Richard

In Iguana all teeth on the jaws ae blade-like and have a serrate morphology. They are highly modified for shearing. The ptergoid teeth in Iguana have virtually taken over the function of gripping, perhaps explaining their arrangement in two rows which is functionally more effective than a single-row arrangement. The maxillary and dentary teeth in Ctenosaura are less laterally compressed thatn those of Iguana, but are still effective for shearing. The pterygoid teeth are usually arranged in a single row. The function of gripping may be shared between the pterygold teeth and those on the jaws. There is a positive correlation between the number of teeth and the length of the skull in Iguana, Ctenosaura, and perhaps in most other lizards. The relationship apparently also exitst for the ptergoid teeth. Statistical comparisons of tooth counts between closely related lizards are invalid if the data are not segretated according to size classes. Size-class segregation is advisable even when differences in counts ae clearly shown to be associated with differences in cranial morphology, e.g. , a truncate snout in one species and a long snout in another.

Comparative Dentition in Four Iguanid Lizards

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