Performance trade-offs define a fundamental dental dichotomy in mammals

Teeth define mammalian evolution, and one of many adaptive dental breakthroughs in crown mammals is the tribosphenic molar: a tooth with a dual shearing-crushing function, often considered a key adaptation in crown mammals. However, we do not know how potential trade-offs between these antagonistic functions may influence the macroevolutionary outcomes of mammalian lineages. Here, we show that predatory mammals evolved dichotomized performance in their tribosphenic carnassial teeth, with slicing constrained to a narrow set of optimal phenotypes and crushing exhibiting redundant solutions. Less than 1% of predators evolved optimized shearing and crushing. The fundamental trade-off in functions of the tribosphenic architecture promoted divergent macroevolutionary specializations rather than functional duality. These results highlight how key innovations can drive early evolutionary success while simultaneously constraining subsequent diversification.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Science
Published
2026-07-16
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aee3453
Primary Topic
Evolution and Paleontology Studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Performance trade-offs define a fundamental dental dichotomy in mammals

Narimane Chatar, Margot Michaud, Alejandro Pérez‐Ramos, Davide Tamagnini et al.
Science
Evolution and Paleontology Studies
article

Performance trade-offs define a fundamental dental dichotomy in mammals

Narimane Chatar, Margot Michaud, Alejandro Pérez‐Ramos, Davide Tamagnini, Z. Jack Tseng, Levi Yoder Raskin, Melvin Vankelst, Tahlia I. Pollock
article en

Abstract

Teeth define mammalian evolution, and one of many adaptive dental breakthroughs in crown mammals is the tribosphenic molar: a tooth with a dual shearing-crushing function, often considered a key adaptation in crown mammals. However, we do not know how potential trade-offs between these antagonistic functions may influence the macroevolutionary outcomes of mammalian lineages. Here, we show that predatory mammals evolved dichotomized performance in their tribosphenic carnassial teeth, with slicing constrained to a narrow set of optimal phenotypes and crushing exhibiting redundant solutions. Less than 1% of predators evolved optimized shearing and crushing. The fundamental trade-off in functions of the tribosphenic architecture promoted divergent macroevolutionary specializations rather than functional duality. These results highlight how key innovations can drive early evolutionary success while simultaneously constraining subsequent diversification.

ScienceVol. 393(6808)
Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (US), University of Liège (BE), University of French Guiana (GF), University of Bristol (GB), Université d'Artois (FR), Monash University (AU), Universidad de Málaga (ES), Sapienza University of Rome (IT), University of California, Berkeley (US)
National Science Foundation, John Templeton Foundation, Belgian American Educational Foundation, Leverhulme Trust, Fonds De La Recherche Scientifique - FNRS, Fondation Fyssen, Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca
Openalex Percentile: Top 5%
Evolution and Paleontology Studies
DOISourceOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.