Terrestrial foraging and dental microwear in Papio ursinus

Dental microwear of ten wild-shot chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) from Northwest and Northern Provinces, South Africa was examined by scanning electron microscopy. All specimens were collected during the dry season, during which these primates exploit hypogeous (underground) food items, including tubers and corms. The microwear fabric of this P. ursinus sample is characterized by high pitting frequencies and large microwear features. It differs significantly from those displayed by other terrestrially oraging papionins of the genus Theropithecus. Exogenous grit is hypothesized to be largely responsible for the observed P. ursinus wear pattern, which resembles the microwear profiles of durophagous primates. It is suggested that large microwear features and a high incidence of enamel pitting, which are generally held to represent a microwear 'signature' of durophagy, may not always be indicative of hard-object feeding in anthropoid primates.