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28 September 2020 Anomalies and pathological changes of skulls and dentition of wild small mammal species from Germany
Matthias Jentzsch, Richard Kraft, Anna Lemkul, Hans-Jürgen Kapischke, Hans-Werner Maternowski, Ronny Wolf
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Skulls, jaws and teeth of wild terrestrial small mammals (Sciuridae, Soricidae, Erinaceidae, Talpidae, Gliridae, Arvicolidae, Muridae) are occasionally affected by anomalies and pathologies. The present study documents a total of 362 anomalies and 122 pathological changes across 20 different species. These are all based on data published in Germany, supplemented by our own records. Cases were classified into 14 different categories, according to bone and dental anomalies, fractures and inclusions, bone proliferation, dental disease and extreme wear of teeth. An additional category to specifically account for bone proliferation of the skull was not needed, but such findings are to be expected. The most frequent finding was abnormal tooth growth, particularly the elongation of the upper incisors. In individual cases, there was evidence that small mammals are able to recover even from serious injuries to the skull.

Matthias Jentzsch, Richard Kraft, Anna Lemkul, Hans-Jürgen Kapischke, Hans-Werner Maternowski, and Ronny Wolf "Anomalies and pathological changes of skulls and dentition of wild small mammal species from Germany," Journal of Vertebrate Biology 69(4), 20072.1-19, (28 September 2020). https://doi.org/10.25225/jvb.20072
Received: 17 July 2020; Accepted: 6 August 2020; Published: 28 September 2020
KEYWORDS
anomaly
pathology
skull
teeth
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