Dental development in Megaladapis edwardsi (Primates, Lemuriformes): Implications for understanding life history variation in subfossil lemurs

Here, we address the absolute pace of dental development in Megaladapis edwardsi, a giant extinct lemur of Madagascar. By examining the microstructure of the first and developing second molars in a juvenile individual, we establish a chronology of molar crown development for this specimen (M1 CFT = 1.04 years; M2 CFT = 1.42 years) and determine its age at death (1.39 years). Microstructural data on prenatal M1 crown formation time allow us to calculate a minimum gestation length of 0.54 years for this species. Postnatal crown and root formation data allow us to estimate its age at M1 emergence (∼0.9 years) and to establish a minimum age for M2 emergence (>1.39 years). Finally, using reconstructions or estimates (drawn elsewhere) of adult body mass, brain size, and diet in Megaladapis, as well as the eruption sequence of its permanent teeth, we explore the efficacy of these variables in predicting the absolute pace of dental development in this fossil species. We test competing explanations of variation in crown formation timing across the order Primates. Brain size is the best single predictor of crown formation time in primates, but other variables help to explain the variation.