Date of Award
8-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Biological Sciences
Committee Chair/Advisor
Dr. Samantha Price
Committee Member
Dr. Richard Blob
Committee Member
Dr. Kory Evans
Committee Member
Dr. Kara Powder
Abstract
Teeth are essential biological tools that function as a direct interface between predator and prey, thus providing essential insights into the evolutionary history and ecological diversity of vertebrates. Historically, studies on vertebrate dentitions have been qualitative and focused on mammals. More recently, quantitative methods have been developed that can reliably measure tooth surface complexity. These methods have been applied across both mammals and saurian reptiles to test for correlations with diet, leading to the conclusion that herbivorous species generally possess higher overall tooth complexity than any other dietary group. Surprisingly, the relationship between tooth complexity and diet in the most dentally diverse and speciose group of vertebrates—teleost fishes—remains unexplored. My dissertation addresses this knowledge gap by integrating phylogenetic comparative analyses with quantitative metrics of tooth complexity applied across 211 microCT scanned dentitions of predominantly reef-associated fish species. My first chapter develops a framework to apply a quantitative tooth complexity metric to fish dentitions. I conduct tests at various steps in the framework to determine best practices for quantifying fish tooth complexity, with the goal of providing an open-source guide for other comparative fish biologists to apply in their own studies. In my second chapter I apply this framework to investigate the relationship between dental complexity and tooth function, with the expectation that herbivory-associated tooth functions will promote higher complexity, as seen in mammals. Contrary to my prediction, I find that tooth count is a better predictor of dental complexity, with tooth eco-functional groups having little predictive power once tooth number is taken into account. In my third and final chapter, I compare tooth complexity variation across jaw regions to understand whether fish dentitions exhibit patterns of adaptation comparable to mammalian dentitions with complexity increasing posteriorly. Results from this study reveal that dental complexity exhibits considerable variation along the jaws, with the highest complexity found anteriorly, and is influenced both by relative jaw size and the functional ecological role of the dentition. This dissertation provides novel contributions in understanding how patterns of dental complexity evolve in fishes, and more broadly enhances our knowledge of ecomorphological diversification in vertebrates.
Recommended Citation
Williams, Keiffer L., "Ecomorphological Diversification of Tooth Complexity in the Oral Jaws of Marine Teleostean Fishes" (2025). All Dissertations. 4074.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/4074
Author ORCID Identifier
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2284-5648