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Full-Text Articles in Animal Sciences
Lower Incisors Of Prairie Dogs (Cynomys) As Biorecorders Of Hibernation And Season Of Death, H. Thomas Goodwin, Eva M. Ryckman
Lower Incisors Of Prairie Dogs (Cynomys) As Biorecorders Of Hibernation And Season Of Death, H. Thomas Goodwin, Eva M. Ryckman
Faculty Publications
Incremental dentin and associated enamel, features visible at the surface of lower incisors of rodents, may chronicle important life-history information. This study investigated surface features of lower incisors representing 4 taxa of prairie dogs (Cynomys) in relation to hibernation and season of year. A set of abnormalities in dentin and enamel, observed on 20 of 138 incisors, always chronicled an event ending in late winter or early spring and was interpreted as a hibernation mark. Hibernation was recorded in the incisors of obligate hibernators, C. leucurus and C. gunnisoni, as well as in 20% of specimens of the facultative heterotherm, …