Developmental versus Functional Explanations for Patterns of Variability and Correlation in the Dentitions of Foxes

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Abstract
Patterns of variability and correlation within mammalian dentitions are often interpreted in terms of the functional demands of occlusion. This study assesses the functional explanation for patterns of variability (as measured by the coefficient of variation, CV) and correlation in dental characters of arctic foxes (Alopex lagopus) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes). Although measurements of teeth in the carnassial region (P4 and M11) have the lowest CVs, there is no consistent inverse relationship across the dentition of foxes between the occlusal complexity of teeth and the CVs of their measurements. Instead, an inverse relationship between the mean size of the dental measurements and their CVs suggests that the CVs may be inversely related to the morphological complexity of the dental characters. The pattern of correlations within the dentition of arctic foxes further emphasizes the lack of correspondence between character correlation and occlusal complexity that has been previously noted in red foxes, but is consistent with that predicted from models for dental development. Rather than reflecting the functional demands of occlusion, the patterns of variability and correlation probably represent developmental factors that are largely independent of proximate functional considerations.

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