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Age assessment using cementum annulus counts and tooth wear in a free-ranging population of Macaca mulatta.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Kay, RF; Cant, JGH
Published in: American journal of primatology
January 1988

Estimates were made of the tooth wear and the number of cementum annuli on lower first molars of Macaca mulatta of known age that had lived on Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico. It is demonstrated that both these measurements are significantly correlated with age. Neither measurement by itself, however, strongly enough corrected with age to provide a reliable guide to the true age of individuals older than about 14 years, although cementum annulus counts clearly provide a more reliable guide to age determination than does wear. A combination of tooth wear and annulus number is a somewhat better predictor of age, with a multiple regression explaining 19% of the overall variance in age. As has been reported previously in tropical ungulates, there is more than one cementum annulus per year deposited on the M1S of our sample. Comparison with rainfall data indicates that the number of dry intervals in the animal's life corresponds on a one-to-one basis with the number of annuli. It is hypothesized that such dry intervals cause nutritional stress, which in turn is reflected in periods of arrested or slowed growth in the tooth cementum. Also, more annuli are formed per year on the teeth of males than those of females. Stress engendered by intermale competition may play a role in this phenomenon.

Duke Scholars

Published In

American journal of primatology

DOI

EISSN

1098-2345

ISSN

0275-2565

Publication Date

January 1988

Volume

15

Issue

1

Start / End Page

1 / 15

Related Subject Headings

  • Behavioral Science & Comparative Psychology
  • 3109 Zoology
  • 1601 Anthropology
  • 0608 Zoology
 

Citation

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Kay, R. F., & Cant, J. G. H. (1988). Age assessment using cementum annulus counts and tooth wear in a free-ranging population of Macaca mulatta. American Journal of Primatology, 15(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.1350150103
Kay, Richard F., and John G. H. Cant. “Age assessment using cementum annulus counts and tooth wear in a free-ranging population of Macaca mulatta.American Journal of Primatology 15, no. 1 (January 1988): 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.1350150103.
Kay RF, Cant JGH. Age assessment using cementum annulus counts and tooth wear in a free-ranging population of Macaca mulatta. American journal of primatology. 1988 Jan;15(1):1–15.
Kay, Richard F., and John G. H. Cant. “Age assessment using cementum annulus counts and tooth wear in a free-ranging population of Macaca mulatta.American Journal of Primatology, vol. 15, no. 1, Jan. 1988, pp. 1–15. Epmc, doi:10.1002/ajp.1350150103.
Kay RF, Cant JGH. Age assessment using cementum annulus counts and tooth wear in a free-ranging population of Macaca mulatta. American journal of primatology. 1988 Jan;15(1):1–15.
Journal cover image

Published In

American journal of primatology

DOI

EISSN

1098-2345

ISSN

0275-2565

Publication Date

January 1988

Volume

15

Issue

1

Start / End Page

1 / 15

Related Subject Headings

  • Behavioral Science & Comparative Psychology
  • 3109 Zoology
  • 1601 Anthropology
  • 0608 Zoology