Incisor procumbency

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Mindomys skull Ray.jpg
Mindomys hammondi has orthodont upper incisors. [1]
Oryzomys palustris skull lateral.png
The marsh rice rat (Oryzomys palustris) has opisthodont upper incisors. [1]

In rodents, incisor procumbency refers to the orientation of the upper incisor, defined by the position of the cutting edge of the incisor relative to the vertical plane of the incisors. Proodont incisors have the cutting edge in front of the vertical plane, orthodont teeth have it perpendicular to the plane, opisthodont incisors have it behind the plane, and hyper-opisthodont teeth have the cutting edge even behind the back of the alveolus of the incisor. [2]

Phyllotini are mostly opisthodont, but Auliscomys and Galenomys are orthodont and have sometimes even been described as proodont, and Eligmodontia , Loxodontomys , and some species of Calomys are hyper-opisthodont. Irenomys , Reithrodon , and Neotomys , formerly classified as phyllotines, are also hyper-opisthodont. [3] Oryzomyini are also mostly opisthodont, but Amphinectomys savamis , Handleyomys fuscatus , Melanomys caliginosus , Mindomys hammondi , Scolomys melanops , and Sigmodontomys aphrastus are orthodont. [1]

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In anatomy, posterolateral palatal pits are gaps at the sides of the back of the bony palate, near the last molars. Posterolateral palatal pits are present, in various degrees of development, in several members of the rodent family Cricetidae. Many members of the family lack them or have only simple pits, but Arvicolinae and Oryzomyini have more highly developed posterolateral palatal pits. Posterolateral palatal pits are also present in some other rodents, including Glis, Jaculus, Hystrix, Abrocoma, Ctenomys, Chinchilla, and Lagidium.

Zygomatic plate

In rodent anatomy, the zygomatic plate is a bony plate derived from the flattened front part of the zygomatic arch (cheekbone). At the back, it connects to the front (maxillary) root of the zygomatic arch, and at the top it is connected to the rest of the skull via the antorbital bridge. It is part of the maxillary bone, or upper jaw, which also contains the upper cheekteeth. Primitively, rodents have a nearly horizontal zygomatic plate. In association with specializations in zygomasseteric system, several distinct morphologies have developed across the order.

In rodents, sphenopalatine vacuities are perforations of the roof of the mesopterygoid fossa, the open space behind the palate, in between the parapterygoid fossae. They may perforate the presphenoid or basisphenoid bone. Their development and form are variable between and within species, and features of the sphenopalatine vacuities have been used as characters in cladistic analyses.

Capsular process

In rodents, the capsular process or projection is a bony capsule that contains the root of the lower incisor. It is visible on the labial (outer) side of the mandible as a raising in the bone. There is marked variation within species in the development of this process.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Weksler, 2006, p. 43
  2. Steppan, 1995, pp. 16–17
  3. Steppan, 1995, p. 18

Literature cited