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EVALUATION OF AN EFFECTIVE METHOD TO ESTIMATE AGE OF CAPE FUR SEALS USING GROUND TOOTH SECTIONS
Author(s) -
Oosthuizen Wessel H.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
marine mammal science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.723
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1748-7692
pISSN - 0824-0469
DOI - 10.1111/j.1748-7692.1997.tb00091.x
Subject(s) - cementum , fur seal , cape , pulp (tooth) , dentistry , age groups , dental cementum , orthodontics , biology , dentin , medicine , geography , zoology , archaeology , demography , sociology
A bstract Teeth of known‐age Cape fur seals Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus were used to validate age estimated from ground sections. In the canines, dentine growth layer groups (GLGs) reflected age accurately but no reliable readings could be obtained from GLGs in the cementum. Upper canines were the most suitable for age estimation. By contrast, in the postcanines where the cementum is thicker, only GLGs in the cementum could be used for age determination, but not with the same accuracy as for dentine in the canines. Therefore, it is recommended that GLGs in the dentine be used to determine age in the Cape fur seal. However, pulp cavities in canines closed at about 13 yr and consequently GLGs in the cementum of the postcanines should be used where the pulp cavities of canines are closed. Accurate estimation of age is not possible from the dentine of older animals.