Mandibular dental anomalies of Northwest Atlantic harp seals, Phoca groenlandica

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Zoology
• Main Authors: Stewart, R. E. A., Stewart, B. E.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1987
• Subjects: Animal Science and Zoology; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Harp Seal; Northwest Atlantic; Phoca groenlandica
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z87-121; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z87-121

We examined 2267 harp seal mandibles to determine the frequency of extra, missing, and malformed teeth; to examine the effect of these anomalies on longevity; and to assess the usefulness of anomalies in identifying stocks of seals. Supernumerary teeth occurred in 1.7% of the seals, 0.5% of the seals were missing teeth (none because of trauma), and 0.6% had morphologically deviant teeth. Only 0.2% of the seals had more than one type of anomaly and none had all three. Average age and age–frequency distributions for anomalous and normal seals were not different. Anomalies were probably too rare and combined too much genetic variation to be useful in stock delineation.