Brandon Strilisky, Anne S. Schulp, Paul Tafforeau, Béatrice Thivichon-Prince, Daniel J. Field, Thomas Bertin, Antoine Louchart, Bhart-Anjan S. Bhullar, Laurent Viriot, Maitena Dumont, Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon (IGFL), École normale supérieure - Lyon (ENS Lyon)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), Dynamique du Langage In Situ (DYLIS), Université de Rouen Normandie (UNIROUEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Institut de Recherche Interdisciplinaire Homme et Société (IRIHS), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Université de Rouen Normandie (UNIROUEN), Normandie Université (NU), Yale University [New Haven], ATOS [Barcelona], Nat Hist Museum Maastricht, De Bosquetpl 6-7, NL-6211 KJ Maastricht, Netherlands, Royal Tyrrell Museum Palaeontol, POB 7500, Drumheller, AB T0J 0Y0, Canada, Laboratoire de géobiologie, biochronologie et paléontologie humaine (LGBPH), Université de Poitiers-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon - Terre, Planètes, Environnement [Lyon] (LGL-TPE), École normale supérieure - Lyon (ENS Lyon)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Mécanismes adaptatifs : des organismes aux communautés (MECADEV), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Peabody Museum of Natural History, Naturalis Biodivers Ctr, Darwinweg 2, NL-2333 CR Leiden, Netherlands, Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine (LECA), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-École normale supérieure - Lyon (ENS Lyon), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-École normale supérieure - Lyon (ENS Lyon), Mécanismes Adaptatifs et Evolution (MECADEV), Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine (LECA ), Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes [2016-2019] (UGA [2016-2019]), Geology and Geochemistry, Dynamic Earth and Resources, Naturalis Biodiversity Center [Leiden], École normale supérieure de Lyon (ENS de Lyon)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon - Terre, Planètes, Environnement (LGL-TPE), École normale supérieure de Lyon (ENS de Lyon)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), and Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Étienne (UJM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Background The dentitions of extinct organisms can provide pivotal information regarding their phylogenetic position, as well as paleobiology, diet, development, and growth. Extant birds are edentulous (toothless), but their closest relatives among stem birds, the Cretaceous Hesperornithiformes and Ichthyornithiformes, retained teeth. Despite their significant phylogenetic position immediately outside the avian crown group, the dentitions of these taxa have never been studied in detail. To obtain new insight into the biology of these ‘last’ toothed birds, we use cutting-edge visualisation techniques to describe their dentitions at unprecedented levels of detail, in particular propagation phase contrast x-ray synchrotron microtomography at high-resolution. Results Among other characteristics of tooth shape, growth, attachment, implantation, replacement, and dental tissue microstructures, revealed by these analyses, we find that tooth morphology and ornamentation differ greatly between the Hesperornithiformes and Ichthyornithiformes. We also highlight the first Old World, and youngest record of the major Mesozoic clade Ichthyornithiformes. Both taxa exhibit extremely thin and simple enamel. The extension rate of Hesperornis tooth dentine appears relatively high compared to non-avian dinosaurs. Root attachment is found for the first time to be fully thecodont via gomphosis in both taxa, but in Hesperornis secondary evolution led to teeth implantation in a groove, at least locally without a periodontal ligament. Dental replacement is shown to be lingual via a resorption pit in the root, in both taxa. Conclusions Our results allow comparison with other archosaurs and also mammals, with implications regarding dental character evolution across amniotes. Some dental features of the ‘last’ toothed birds can be interpreted as functional adaptations related to diet and mode of predation, while others appear to be products of their peculiar phylogenetic heritage. The autapomorphic Hesperornis groove might have favoured firmer root attachment. These observations highlight complexity in the evolutionary history of tooth reduction in the avian lineage and also clarify alleged avian dental characteristics in the frame of a long-standing debate on bird origins. Finally, new hypotheses emerge that will possibly be tested by further analyses of avian teeth, for instance regarding dental replacement rates, or simplification and thinning of enamel throughout the course of early avian evolution. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-016-0753-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.