Tooth attachment, replacement, and growth in the butterfly fish, Chaetodon miliaris (Chaetodontidae, Perciformes)

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Abstract
Despite much work on tooth development and attachment in fishes there has been little published on this subject in advanced actinopterygians. This paper describes tooth structure, arrangement, attachment, growth, and replacement in the butterflyfish, Chaetodon miliaris. Each tooth is composed of a cap, shaft, and pulp cavity, and is articulated to attachment bone pedestals by an annular ligament. Tooth growth occurs initially by cap formation followed by elongation of the tooth shaft. These growing replacement teeth remain unattached to the bone, forming in troughs in the premaxilla and dentaries. Jaw tooth replacement appears to occur either laterally or lingually to functional teeth; addition of teeth lateral to functional rows may provide increase in tooth numbers during growth. The dentition and jaw morphology of this species appears to represent a compromise between planktivory and benthic feeding and may indicate a recent entry into the planktivorous guild.

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