An asymmetric dental formula in a mammal, the São Tomé Island fruit bat Myonycteris brachycephala (Mammalia: Megachiroptera)

1 January 1993

journal article
Published by Canadian Science Publishing in Canadian Journal of Zoology

Vol. 71 (1) , 221-224
https://doi.org/10.1139/z93-030

Abstract

The dental formula in heterodont mammals characteristically shows bilateral symmetry. Its expression is likely to be subject to very strong selective pressures, since it is associated with such basic functions as the acquisition and preparation of food. Here we report the exceptional finding of the first asymmetric dental formula in a heterodont mammal observed in the São Tomé Island (West Africa) frugivorous bat Myonycteris brachycephala. The asymmetry results from the absence of a lower internal incisor, occurring variably in the right or left mandible. This morphological innovation is possibly related to a developmental instability associated with the colonization by the island species.

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