Developmental genetics and early hominid craniodental evolution

Although features of the dentition figure prominently in discussions of ear ly hominid phylogeny, remarkably little is known of the developmental basis of the variations in occlusal morphology and dental proportions that are o bserved among taxa. Recent experiments on tooth development in mice have id entified some of the genes involved in dental patterning and the control of tooth specification. These findings provide valuable new insight into dent al evolution and underscore the strong developmental links that exist among the teeth and the jaws and cranium. The latter has important implications for cladistic studies that traditionally consider features of the skull ind ependently from the dentition. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.