ˈprotocone Zool.
[f. proto- + cone n.1]
An inner cusp on the front corner of a mammalian upper molar tooth.
| 1888 H. F. Osborn in Amer. Naturalist XXII. 1072 (table) Proposed terms... Protocone... Protoconule... Protoconid. 1896 Proc. Zool. Soc. 573 In the deciduous 4th premolar [of Centetes] likewise the protocone develops first. 1922 [see deuterocone s.v. deutero-]. 1933 A. S. Romer Vertebr. Paleont. xii. 248 A single cusp is found at the inner apex; this was originally believed to represent the original reptilian cone and hence is called the protocone. 1968, 1971 [see metaconule]. 1976 Nature 5 Aug. 464/2 The upper first deciduous molar displays spatial dominance of the protocone. |