Use of Datura innoxia by ungulates in the Hoanib River, Namibia
The behaviour of springbok Antidorcas marsupialis feeding on the alien invasive plant Datura innoxia is described, as well as nervous symptoms possibly arising from tropane alkaloid poisoning. Dung collected from five herbivore species prior to 1989 contained no D. innoxia seeds, and other signs of use of it were rare. Feeding on this plant, principally […]
Hypsodonty and tooth facet development in relation to diet and habitat in herbivorous ungulates: implications for understanding tooth wear
1. The evolution of high-crowned teeth or hypsodonty in herbivorous mammals is widely interpreted as a species specific adaptation to increasingly wear-inducing diets and environments at evolutionary time scales, with internal abrasives (such as phytoliths in grasses) and/or external abrasives (such as dust or grit) as putative causative factors. The mesowear score (MS) instead describes […]