Dental Eruption in Bobcats

Abstract

We documented tooth eruption in 9 hand-raised bobcat (Felis rufus) kittens. Tooth lengths were measured to the nearest mm. Deciduous dentition began to erupt at 11-14 days of age and was completed by 9 weeks of age. Permanent dentition began to erupt at 16-19 weeks of age and was completed by 34 weeks of age. The sequence and timing of deciduous and permanent dentition will aid in estimating parturition and copulation dates from bobcat kittens in the wild. J. WILDL. MANAGE. 52(3):515-517 Information on the dental eruption patterns of known-age bobcats has not been published. Data on sex ratios, age structures, and age-specific reproductive rates have been collected and analyzed by states to assess the status of resident bobcat populations (Gluesing 1982). These data have been compared to data collected and analyzed in a similar manner from prior studies (Gluesing et al. 1986). Therefore, researchers have compared 1 unknown to another when estimating age structure and periods of reproductive activity. Estimates of breeding and parturition dates of the bobcat have been based on dentition-eruption schedules and growth rates of the domestic cat. Crowe (1975) developed a dentition eruption schedule for bobcats using the tooth eruption schedule of the domestic cat presented by McClure et al. (1973:211). Crowe's (1975) schedule has been used to age wild bobcat kittens (Blankenship 1979). The purpose of our study was to determine eruption schedules for deciduous and permanent teeth from knownage bobcat kittens. An accurate knowledge of the tooth eruption schedules of bobcat kittens will aid in elucidating parturition and conception dates of wild bobcats. This manuscript is dedicated to E. A. Gluesing, who initiated the study and whose efforts and guidance made this study possible. We thank J. R. Jackson, V. M. Woshner, and others who helped raise the kittens. We also thank B. D. Leopold, E. P. Hill, and R. M. Kaminski for their help in editing this manuscript, and K. M. Vandevelde for typing it. Financial support was p ovided by Mississippi Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Project W-48-30 and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station.