Dental anomalies and dental variations in the red foxVulpes vulpes in the Czech Republic

Abstract

Dental abnormalities including polydonty, oligodonty, extra roots, different root morphotype, root fusion, different crown morphotype, crown reduction, partial crown eruption, supernumerary cusp, irregularities in the position of the teeth, and malocclusion were studied in a set of 785 red foxVulpes vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758) skulls (401 males, 273 females, and 111 individuals of unknown sex) from the Czech Republic. Three hundred sixty one cases of deviations from normal were found in 170 specimens (21.7%). Most of the deviations were variants within a genetically determined range. The prevalent dental variants included an extra root of M1 (5.7% specimens), and different root morphotype of P1 (1.9% specimens). On the other hand, the real dental anomalies, eg polydonty, occurred seldom within the population. P1 1 and M3 were missing significantly more frequently among females than among males unlike the other deviations, which were divided equally between the sexes. No differences were found between the left and right side of the jaw. Irregularities in the position of the teeth and oligodonty (excluding P1 1, M3) appeared significantly more abundantly on mandible, whereas extra roots and polydonty were more common on the maxilla. There was no relationship between the incidence of dental abnormalities and the relative mandible and rostrum length.