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Dental Variation in a Collection of Lemmiscus curtatus from the Northern Plains of Southern Saskatchewan: Implications for Morphological Evolution

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We provide the first documentation of morphological variation in the lower first molar (m1) of Lemmiscus curtatus from southern Canada. A total of 370 specimens were obtained from owl pellets… Click to show full abstract

We provide the first documentation of morphological variation in the lower first molar (m1) of Lemmiscus curtatus from southern Canada. A total of 370 specimens were obtained from owl pellets taken from 4 localities in southern Saskatchewan. The 4 most common morphotypes are, in order of descending relative abundance, molars with 5 closed triangles and a well-developed but widely open sixth triangle, molars with 5 closed triangles and a sixth triangle that is pinched at the confluence of the anterior cap, molars with 5 closed triangles and incipient closure of the sixth triangle from the anterior cap, and specimens with 6 closed triangles. As is true of other modern populations of L. curtatus, the samples from Saskatchewan include no morphotypes with only 4 closed triangles. This collection is notable for the relatively high proportion of specimens with pinched, incipient, or full closure of a sixth triangle on the m1, and it also highlights the complex dynamics of dental evolution in arvicoline rodents.

Keywords: variation; sixth triangle; southern saskatchewan; lemmiscus curtatus; closed triangles

Journal Title: Western North American Naturalist
Year Published: 2019

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