Editing Diprotodon (section)

====Teeth====
[[File:Diprotodon molars.jpg|thumb|''Diprotodon'' [[molar (tooth)|molars]]]]

The [[dental formula]] of ''Diprotodon'' is {{DentalFormula|upper=3.0.1.4|lower=1.0.1.4}}. In each half of either jaw are three incisors in the upper jaw and one in the lower jaw; there are one [[premolar]] and four molars in both jaws but no [[canine (tooth)|canines]]. A long [[diastema]] (gap) separates the incisors from the molars.{{sfn|Owen|1870|loc=p. 528}}

The incisors are scalpriform (chisel-like). Like those of wombats and [[rodent]]s, the first incisors in both jaws continuously grew throughout the animal's life but the other two upper incisors did not. This combination is not seen in any living marsupial. The cross-section of the upper incisors is circular. In one old male specimen, the first upper incisor measures {{cvt|11|in|order=flip}} of which {{cvt|8.5|in|order=flip}} is within the tooth socket; the second is {{cvt|4|in|order=flip}} and {{cvt|1|in|order=flip}} is in the socket; and the exposed part of the third is {{cvt|2.6|in|order=flip}}. The first incisor is convex and curves outwards but the other two are concave.{{sfn|Owen|1870|loc=pp. 528–530}} The lower incisor has a faint upward curve but is otherwise straight and has an oval cross-section. In the same old male specimen, the lower incisor  measures {{cvt|10|in|order=flip}}, of which {{frac|2|3}} is inside the socket.{{sfn|Owen|1870|loc=p. 533}}

The premolars and molars are [[bilophodont]], each having two distinct lophs (ridges). The premolar is triangular and about half the size of the molars.<ref name=Huxley1862>{{cite journal|last=Huxley|first=T. H.|authorlink=Thomas H. Huxley|year=1862|title=On the Premolar Teeth of ''Diprotodon'', and on a New Species of that Genus|journal=Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society|volume=18|issue=1–2|pages=422–427|doi=10.1144/gsl.jgs.1862.018.01-02.56|bibcode=1862QJGS...18..422H |s2cid=131284050 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1793193 }}</ref> As in kangaroos, the necks of the lophs are coated in [[cementum]]. Unlike in kangaroos, there is no connecting ridge between the lophs. The peaks of these lophs have a thick [[tooth enamel|enamel]] coating that thins towards the base; this could wear away with use and expose the [[dentine]] layer, and beneath that osteodentine.{{sfn|Owen|1870|loc=pp. 530–532}} Like the first premolar of other marsupials, the first molar of ''Diprotodon'' and wombats is the only tooth that is [[deciduous teeth|replaced]].{{sfn|Owen|1870|loc=p. 539}} ''D. optatum'' premolars were highly morphologically variable even within the same individual.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Price |first1=Gilbert J. |last2=Sobbe |first2=Ian H. |date=7 September 2010 |title=Morphological variation within an individual Pleistocene Diprotodon optatum Owen, 1838 (Diprotodontinae; Marsupialia): implications for taxonomy within diprotodontoids |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03115511003793553 |journal=[[Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology]] |language=en |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=21–29 |doi=10.1080/03115511003793553 |issn=0311-5518 |access-date=6 May 2024 |via=Taylor and Francis Online}}</ref>