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A sweet tooth gave ancient primates a mouthful of woe

Fossils of a monkey-like animal that lived tens of millions of years ago furnish the earliest evidence of a mammal with cavities.
Part of the upper jaw from Microsyops latidens

A fossilized jaw (computer reconstruction) of Microsyops latidens has cavities — seen as oval depressions — in the teeth second and third from the bottom. Credit: Keegan Selig

Even without fizzy drinks and sweets, an extinct primate had the same dental problems as modern humans, according to fossils — providing the earliest known evidence of mammals with cavities1.

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Nature 597, 451 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-02475-w

References

  1. Selig, K. R. & Silcox, M. T. Sci. Rep. 11, 15920 (2021).

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