File:Lophosteus superbus tooth field in postero-occlusal view.jpg

English: Postero-occlusal view of the tooth field invaded by overgrowing odontodes. (A) First-generation teeth are shown. They are perfectly conical. (B) The final replacement teeth that will be buried by second-generation overgrowing odontodes are shown. They are still perfectly conical. (C) The final replacement teeth that will be buried by third-generation overgrowing odontodes are shown. They are more or less ornament-like, probably because of the approach of the dermal epithelium, which is represented by the second-generation overgrowing odontodes, during the tooth development. (D) The final replacement teeth of the inserted positions are shown. They are ornament-like, probably because of the approach of the dermal epithelium that generate the third-generation overgrowing odontodes. The dermal odontodes overgrowing the oral lamina do not develop a fully stellate morphology, only with few uncrenulated ridgelets. The most lingual ones tend to become longitudinally compressed, contrary to the longitudinal elongation of those on the facial lamina. Their side-cusps only develop labially and main cusps incline lingually. Note, since the invasive front line of the ornament (the oral-dermal boundary) is undulating, tooth morphology is not correlated with rows or generations, but with the proximity of dermal odontodes. (E) Spatial relationship between the pulp cavities of overgrowing odontodes and the teeth buried right below. Note, the labial positions function at the earlier stages, depending on how soon they are overgrown by ornament, and thus the final replacement teeth of the labial tooth rows are smaller than those of the lingual ones. Each position, even if in the same row, has a different replacement history, which can be revealed by the shape of pulp cavity; in a long-life position, the first-generation tooth and all its replacement teeth have their pulp cavities fused into a mushroom-like shape.