Tooth growth and replacement in Ctenolucius hujeta, a neotropical characoid fish

The predaceous neotropical characoid fish Ctenolucius has an essentially homodont dentition, the number of teeth increasing linearly with age. The basic manner of tooth replacement suggests that Ctenolucius is a primitive characoid. Tooth replacement continues throughout life and is similar to that of tetrapods, involving replacement waves which pass from the back to the front of the jaws. The waves containing the greatest number of teeth are found just anterior to the middle of the jaws. In the upper jaw the increase in the number of teeth is restricted to the anterior portion (premaxillary) whereas the number on the posterior part (maxillary) remains constant. In specimens measuring from 68–230 mm in standard length the posterior portion of the upper jaw doubles in length whereas the anterior portion triples. It is suggested that the area immediately anterior to the middle of the jaw, where replacement waves are longest, is where most of the increase in tooth numbers occurs. During growth of the teeth the absolute height is always greater than the absolute width as the shape changes. The final shape of the recurved conical teeth is determined only in the last stages of tooth formation when the main axis of growth abruptly changes.