CEMENTAL DEPOSITION AS AN AGE CRITERION IN BISON, AND THE RELATION OF INCISOR WEAR, EYE-LENS WEIGHT, AND DRESSED BISON CARCASS WEIGHT TO AGE.

Abstract

The relation of cemental deposition, incisor wear, eye-lens weight, and dressed carcass weight to age in bison was investigated in an attempt to define this relation on the basis of annual increments. It was expected that the bison, particularly in northern latitudes, would be subject to a cyclic or annual growth and aging process which would be reflected in an analysis of the above criteria. It was found that cemental deposition occurred in the premolars and molars beyond age 4 1/2 and that this deposition appeared in the form of alternating layers of translucent and opaque cementum, each set combined to form one annual band. Incisor wear provided a further check on this technique. It was found that eye-lens weight and dressed carcass weight were not reliable indicators of chronological age, particularly beyond 4 1/2 years of age when tooth replacement could not be used to define the limits of variability found in eye-lens weights and dressed carcass weights.