ORIGINAL PAPER Morphology is not Destiny: Discrepancy between Form, Function and Dietary Adaptation in Bovid Cheek Teeth Juan Pablo Gailer 1 & Ivan Calandra 2 & Ellen Schulz-Kornas 1,3 & Thomas M. Kaiser 1 Published online: 17 March 2016 # Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016 Abstract Mammal teeth have evolved morphologies that al- low for the efficient mechanical processing of different foods, therefore increasing dietary energy uptake for maintenance of high metabolic demands. However, individuals masticate foods with biomechanical properties at odds with the optimal function of a given tooth morphology. Here, we investigate tooth form and function using two quantitative 3D methods at different scales on the same individuals of nine bovid species. Dental topometry quantifies the gross morphology, and there- fore, reflects evolutionary adaptive patterns. Surface texture analysis infers mechanical occlusal events, which reflect the actual tooth function, and is free from the influence of mor- phology. We found that tough foods can be satisfactorily exploited by grazing species with enamel ridge morphologies not more complex than those found in intermediate feeders and browsers. Thus, the evolution of enamel complexity is likely determined by a balance between adaptation and con- straints. Wider enamel ridges seem to be a common functional trait in bovids to compensate for severe wear from abrasive foods and/or chipping from hard foods. Our results demonstrate that supposedly essential functional adaptations in tooth morphology may not be required to process food efficiently. This emphasizes the large plasticity between Boptimal^ morphology and the potential function of the tooth, and underscores the need to appreciate (apparently) maladap- tive structures in mammalian evolution as nevertheless effec- tive functioning units. Keywords 3D dental topometry . Bovidae . Dental evolution . Feeding adaptation . Surface texture analysis Introduction Teeth play a central role in achieving efficient energy uptake from the environment by mammals. Mammalian craniodental diversity has been studied widely with the aim of understand- ing the morphological adaptations that reflect comminution mechanics to different kinds of diets (e.g., Rensberger 1973; Hiiemae and Crompton 1985; Pérez-Barbería and Gordon 1999, 2001; Evans et al. 2007). It has been shown that there is a correspondence between tooth morphology and the bio- mechanical properties of food (Fortelius 1985; Archer and Sanson 2002; Lucas 2004; Sanson 2006; Clauss et al. 2008). The main product of mastication is thought to be the in- crease of the surface-volume ratio of food particles so that enzymes can act more efficiently in the post-oral digestive system to extract as many nutrients as possible (Pond et al. 1984; Bjorndal et al. 1990; Pérez-Barbería and Gordon 1998). In turn, tooth form also relates to mastication mechanics (Turnbull 1970; Greaves 1991; Pérez-Barbería and Gordon 1999; Gailer and Kaiser 2014). As a mechanical interface with the environment, teeth need to resist mechanical loads (strain/stress) without fracturing. Loads and possibly induced fractures depend on the shape Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10914-016-9325-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Juan Pablo Gailer juan.pablo.gailer@uni-hamburg.de 1 Center of Natural History, University of Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, 20146 Hamburg, Germany 2 GEGENAA – EA 3795, University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, CREA – 2 esplanade Roland Garros, 51100 Reims, France 3 Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Max Planck Weizmann Center for Integrative Archaeology and Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany J Mammal Evol (2016) 23:369–383 DOI 10.1007/s10914-016-9325-1