2025-2029
Project
INDENT
Physical properties of food and
morpho-functional evolution of
primate dentition: combining
experimental approaches and
3D topographic analysis
Supervisors
Funding
INDENT is a research project funded by the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region, 2020–2023.
Aims
To interpret the form-function relationships between consumed foods and primate dental morphology, and to trace the evolution of primate dental morphology in relation to environmental changes over time.
Some results
Highlighting variations in masticatory efficiency for four primate dental types, involving differential adaptation to the consumption of leaves, fruits, seeds, and insects among these taxa (with Axelle Walker).
The project in three phases:
- Analysis of primate dental morphologies using 3D topographic approaches.
- Validation of adaptive hypotheses through the use of a mastication simulator.
- Application to fossils and the evolutionary history of primate dentition in relation to environmental changes over time.
Consortium
INDENT integrates themes such as paleontology, ecology, materials physics, robotics, 3D imaging, and biomechanics. The project draws on the expertise developed within PALEVOPRIM (F. Guy, V. Lazzari, G. Thiery, G. Merceron) and externally, including contributions from C. Salles (CSGA, INRA Dijon), X. Milhet (Pprime), and M. Berthaume (London South Bank University), as well as the Parc de la Vallée des Singes (Romagne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region, in collaboration with J.-P. Guéry, Director).
