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Radiographic views of the wolf`s teeth and skull. (A) (Upper image) Right I3 root (purple), right canine root (green), PM1 root (orange), PM2 and PM3 roots (blue) and PM4 roots (white, red and yellow); (Lower image). Detail of the PM4 roots-mesiobuccal (yellow dotted line), mesiopalatal (white dotted line) and distal root (red dotted line); (B) Roots of three right maxillary incisors; (C) Molar and premolar disposition teeth in the mandible.
Source publication
Depredation by the Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus) is currently thought to be a problem in some areas of Spain. However, there are few technically validated forensic tools available to determine the veracity of claims with a high degree of scientific confidence, which is important given that such attacks may lead to compensation. The analysis o...
Contexts in source publication
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... analysis of the wolf's incisors identified six maxillary and six mandibular incisors (three right and three left incisors) numbered as the first (I1), second (I2) and third (I3) incisor from the midline ( Figures 1A-D, 2A, 2B, and 3B). Each incisor has one root ( Figure 3B), with the three maxillary teeth implanted into the incisive bone ( Figure 3A). Both the crowns and roots of the maxillary and mandibular incisors increase in size (length) from I1 to I3, as is also seen for the width of the crowns (the distance between the distal and mesial surface: Figure 3B). ...
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... analysis of the wolf's incisors identified six maxillary and six mandibular incisors (three right and three left incisors) numbered as the first (I1), second (I2) and third (I3) incisor from the midline ( Figures 1A-D, 2A, 2B, and 3B). Each incisor has one root ( Figure 3B), with the three maxillary teeth implanted into the incisive bone ( Figure 3A). Both the crowns and roots of the maxillary and mandibular incisors increase in size (length) from I1 to I3, as is also seen for the width of the crowns (the distance between the distal and mesial surface: Figure 3B). ...
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... incisor has one root ( Figure 3B), with the three maxillary teeth implanted into the incisive bone ( Figure 3A). Both the crowns and roots of the maxillary and mandibular incisors increase in size (length) from I1 to I3, as is also seen for the width of the crowns (the distance between the distal and mesial surface: Figure 3B). The maxillary I1 and I2 have three protrusions along the incisal edge called mamelons, with two lateral mamelons and one central mamelon ( Figure 1A), while I3 is conical with no mamelons and a sharp cusp ( Figure 2B). ...
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... incisal ridge is present in I1, I2, and I3 forming a sharp edge, and I1 and I2 are laterally compressed. The roots of the maxillary and mandibular I1 and I2 are straight, twice as long as the crown is high ( Figure 3B, the mandibular incisors are not shown). The root and crown of I3 are arched, displaying a similar crown and root length ( Figure 3B). ...
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... roots of the maxillary and mandibular I1 and I2 are straight, twice as long as the crown is high ( Figure 3B, the mandibular incisors are not shown). The root and crown of I3 are arched, displaying a similar crown and root length ( Figure 3B). The distal surface of I3 is sharp and it is possible to describe a soft sideways curvature of the root. ...
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... maxillary canines are wider and larger than the mandibular ones (Figure 2A,B). From the cementoenamel junction, the crowns in the maxillary canines project in a forward, downward, and slightly lateral direction ( Figure 3A,C). By contrast, the mandibular canines project in a forward direction and upwards, with a clearer and larger lateral deviation than their maxillary counterparts ( Figures 1D and 2B). ...
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... this analysis, 16 premolar teeth were identified, eight in the maxillary dental arch ( Figure 3A) and eight in mandibular dental arch (four-right and four-left premolars in the maxillary and mandibular bones: (Figure 1B-F and 2A). The maxillary premolar teeth are positioned more laterally than the mandibular ones. ...
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... PM1 is the smallest of the series (Figure 2A) and the crown of the maxillary PM1 is slightly lower than its counterpart in the mandibular bone. The mandibular PM1 is the most rostral premolar tooth in the series and it has only one tubercle, with one tip cusp and one root ( Figure 3C), a straight yet longer root relative to the crown: the root is twice the crown height. Both, mandibular and maxillary PM2s and PM3s are similar. ...
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... mandibular and maxillary PM2s and PM3s are similar. These premolar teeth have two tubercles (mesial and distal) and two diverging roots (mesiobuccal and mesiopalatal: Figure 3A,C). The mesial edge of the maxillary crowns faces down and backwards, while in the mandibular ones the direction of the edge is upwards and backwards. ...
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... direction of the mesial edge is similar to that in PM2 and PM3. PM4 has three roots, two diverging roots belonging to the mesial tubercle (mesiobuccal and mesiopalatal) and one distal root belonging to the distal tubercle ( Figure 3A). ...
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... the molar teeth, there were two right and two left molars in the maxillary bone (Figures 2A and 3A) and three right and three left molars in the mandibular bone ( Figure 3C), a total of five left and five right molar teeth. In both the maxillary and mandibular bones, the M1 is the largest of the series and it is a carnassial tooth ( Figures 1E and 3A,C). ...
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... the molar teeth, there were two right and two left molars in the maxillary bone (Figures 2A and 3A) and three right and three left molars in the mandibular bone ( Figure 3C), a total of five left and five right molar teeth. In both the maxillary and mandibular bones, the M1 is the largest of the series and it is a carnassial tooth ( Figures 1E and 3A,C). The maxillary M1 and M2 have three tubercles and three roots, and these three tubercles are distributed as two vestibular tubercles (mesiobuccal and distobuccal) and one smaller lingual tubercle ( Figure 4B). ...
Citations
... Consumption indicators are of interest even if not common in the assemblage. Regarding tooth mark size, recent studies dealing with morphometric approaches to tooth marks indicate that their measurements are not very accurate if using digital callipers with a 1mm of error since these can result in measurement bias (Yravedra et al. 2019;Toledo et al. 2020;Courtenay et al. 2021aCourtenay et al. , 2021b. Still, the lack of morphometric analysis of swine tooth marks hinders an approximation of their access and modification of remains. ...
The Late Bronze Age was an important phase in European Prehistory but our understanding of its regional dynamics is unequal. Relevant knowledge of the peopling and material culture of Southwestern Iberia between 1170 and 730 BCE exists, but the exploitation and management of animals remain largely uncharacterized. We generally lack the taphonomical data that could allow for an in-depth understanding of faunal assemblages’ formation, with relevance for the description of depositional environments if paired with relative and absolute chronologies. We present two new absolute dates for the Outeiro do Circo Late Bronze Age and a zooarchaeological and taphonomical analysis of the total recovered faunal assemblage. Caprine, swine, and bovine primary and probably secondary products were of importance, with the hunting of red deer and wild boar being complementary. Other species such as leporids, equids, canids and several molluscs were recovered. The latter are mostly intrusive terrestrial gastropods but the scarce presence of scallops and peppery furrow shells can also relate to exchange networks. Taphonomical indicators of the butchering and consumption of animals and the secondary access by a large canid are well attested in the assemblage, as well as the culinary and non-culinary thermo-alteration of animals’ bones.
... Delaney et al. (2009) also reported this. This is due to the greater depth that the teeth could reach during the bite in less dense areas, and the particular characteristics of Iberian wolf (Toledo González et al., 2020) and dog teeth (König and Liebich, 2020). In this study, it was possible to group three statistically distinct zones according to the density of the cortical bone. ...
... Species identification or the distinction of closely related species can also be done using the metric and morphological characteristics of the teeth, applying statistically robust techniques and using advanced tools (e.g., geometric morphometrics) [51,[53][54][55][56][57][58][59]. Furthermore, the variation of simple metric characteristics such as tooth size or jaw length can be key in resolving debates about whether a sample comprises a single species or includes more than one morphologically similar species [60]. ...
... In these situations, it is important to record which teeth are missing and why, as any deviation in the number of teeth from the dental formula must be considered, such as for example, genetic causes, ante-mortem tooth loss due to disease or trauma, post-mortem tooth loss, or unerupted or undeveloped tooth (agenesia). Species identification or the distinction of closely related species can also be done using the metric and morphological characteristics of the teeth, applying statistically robust techniques and using advanced tools (e.g., geometric morphometrics) [51,[53][54][55][56][57][58][59]. Furthermore, the variation of simple metric characteristics such as tooth size or jaw length can be key in resolving debates about whether a sample comprises a single species or includes more than one morphologically similar species [60]. ...
... For example, a high coefficient of variation in a dental sample can be an indication that corresponds to more than one species [61]. However, according to Hillson [59], the absolute size variation of individual teeth is less marked than the relative size variation between different elements of the dentition, so it is important to analyse several classes of teeth at the same time. Of particular importance is the intercanine distance, defined as the length between the two tips of the maxillary or mandibular canines ( Figure 2). ...
Veterinary forensics is becoming more important in our society as a result of the growing demand for investigations related to crimes against animals or investigations of criminal deaths caused by animals. A veterinarian may participate as an expert witness or may be required to give forensic assistance, by providing knowledge of the specialty to establish a complete picture of the involvement of an animal and allowing the Courts to reach a verdict. By applying diverse dental profiling techniques, not only can species, sex, age-at-death, and body size of an animal be estimated, but also data about their geographical origin (provenance) and the post-mortem interval. This review concentrates on the dental techniques that use the characteristics of teeth as a means of identification of freshly deceased and skeletonised animals. Furthermore, this highlights the information that can be extracted about the animal from the post-mortem dental profile.
... In contrast, the widest part of the palate is located at the level of the first molar tooth in Ghanaian dog [52]. Similar to the current findings, the permanent dental formula of the red fox, Baladi dog, and Iberian wolf is I 3/3, C 1/1, P [53][54][55]. Although the red fox and Baladi dog are classified as carnivores, they consume omnivorous diet [2,3,6,15]. ...
The Egyptian red fox (Vulpes vulpes aegyptiaca) and Egyptian Baladi dog (Canis familiaris) are two members of the Family Canidae that are widely distributed in Egypt. The skulls of different Canid species vary greatly in their size and shape; therefore, they can be used as a tool to study the evolution and evolutionary history of these animals. The craniometric measurements are crucial for species identification and determination of the specific sites for nerve blocks. The present study compared the craniometric measurements of the red fox and Baladi dog skulls by measuring 47 parameters on each skull and calculation of 8 indices. The red fox skull had significantly lower values of 41 craniometric measurements (approximately 87% of the measurements done), including skull length, width, and height, cranial length and width, palatal and mandibular length, and dental measurements. In contrast, the red fox had significantly higher values of only 3 measurements (approximately 6% of the measurements done) including the tympanic bulla measurement. While only three skull measurements did not differ significantly between the red fox and dog. Statistics revealed that domestic dog had significantly higher values of foramen magnum and palatine indices, and significantly lower value of nasal index than those of red fox. The present work reported variations in the gross and craniometric measurements of skull between the red fox and dog. The measured cranial parameters of both adult animals provide valuable information that can be used in ecological studies, comparative anatomy, and clinical veterinary sciences.
... The morphometrical studies of the animal skulls are important for species identification, in evolution studies and evolutionary history of the animals, but at the same time the morphometrical parameters of the skulls can be used as a helpful tool for regional anaesthesia of the cranial nerves and in veterinary forensic investigations (Igado, 2017;Mohamed, 2018;Monfared, 2013;Saber et al., 2016;Toledo González et al., 2020). ...
This study aimed to explain the sex determination of the autochthonous dog Deltari Ilir with both morphometric and geometric analysis methods. For this purpose, 24 Deltari Ilir dog skulls (12 females and 12 males) were used in the study. The difference between males and females at 6 values was statistically significant. The most statistically significant difference was seen in the measurement of the greatest breadth of the occipital condyles (p < 0.000). This measurement was higher in male skulls. The next most significant difference was seen in the greatest inner height of the orbit measurement (p < 0.002). This measurement was also higher than for females. In general, the skull length measurements of male dogs were higher than that of females. Male dog skulls had greater skull length and skull height. The lateral view was used for geometric analysis and 14 landmarks were determined. As a result of principal component analysis, 22 PC values were obtained. PC1 accounted for 23.73% of the total variance. As a result of canonical variants analysis, it was observed that males and females were completely separated from each other. The caudal part of the males was wider than the females in geometric analysis. As a result of the study, sex-determining characteristics were revealed for the Deltari Ilir dog. It was seen that gender analysis could be done with both morphometric and geometric analysis methods. In addition, it was seen that morphometric results and geometric analysis results supported each other. Moreover, the results of the study will be useful in the function of comparative anatomy, in veterinary clinical practice, in zooarchaeology but why not also in the veterinary forensic investigation.
... The length, width, surface area, and volume of each tooth in the maxillary and mandibular were automatically measured from the 3D model obtained from the CT images. In addition, the length of the cheek tooth row (M3-P4), length of the molar row (M3-M1), partial length of the molar row (M3-M2 and M1-M2), partial length of the cheek tooth row (P4-M1 and P4-M2), diastema length, the distance between the first incisors, the distance between the fourth premolars, the distance between the third molars, the distance between the cusp tips of the first incisors both in the maxilla and mandible were measured from the 3D-reconstructed images as described in the literature [3,11,13,22] (as shown in Figure 2). ...
... In addition, it has been reported that the morphometric dental features of the Iberian wolf, another species belonging to the order Carnivora, show significant sexual dimorphism. It has also been stated that M1 is the largest of the series in both the maxillary and mandibular bones [3]. Similar to the Iberian wolf, we determined that the largest molar tooth was M1 in the maxillary bone and M2 in the mandibular bone. ...
... The significant sex differences in the distance between the first incisors, the distance between the fourth premolars, the distance between the third molars and distance between the cusp tips of the first incisors in the mandibular arch and the distance between the first incisors, the distance between the third molars, and distance between the cusp tips of the first incisors in the maxillary arch in the chinchilla are in line with the greater distances between the right and left sides of the lower and upper jaws of the male Iberian wolf compared to the females [3]. In addition, according to the measurement values obtained in our study, the distances between the right and left sides of the maxillary arch in both the male and female chinchillas were smaller than those in the mandibular arch, which is consistent with the upper jaw being narrower than the lower jaw in Rodentia spp. ...
... To continue with this line of research, however, it is important that these results be observed equally in other carnivore families, such as felids, to extrapolate information on a larger scale. A recent study by Toledo et al. [26] revealed metric differences in the bite of female and male wolves on dental wax, while noting metric differences mainly in the size of male and female wolf teeth. While other studies have not yet noticed whether sexual dimorphism has an effect on the tooth marks produced [21,22], the sex of these individuals have not been directly observed. ...
Recent studies using geometric morphometrics for taphonomy have yielded interesting results, opening new horizons of research in both archaeological and paleontological sites. Here we present the analysis of tooth pits left by male and female individuals of two different carnivore species (Panthera tigris and Panthera pardus) in order to see if sexual dimorphism influences the morphology of tooth pit marks. In the process, 3D-scanning and applied statistics were used. Based on samples derived from two individuals of different sexes, the present results indicate sexual dimorphism in these felid species to not be a conditioning factor of tooth pit morphology.
... When chewing, most canids are known to show a preference for the use of teeth furthest back in the mouth, namely the posterior-most inferior molars and upper premolars/molars. A recent study has reported the larger cusp of these teeth to have a mean breadth of 13mm for female wolves and 14mm for male wolves in the case of lower molars, and 16mm for female wolves and 17mm for male wolves in the case of upper premolars [56]. Two of the present tooth mark samples originated from wild wolf packs residing in the province of Zamora in north-western Spain, sharing borders with Portugal and located north of the River Duero (Castilla y León, Figure 2). ...
... When chewing, most canids are known to show a preference for the use of teeth furthest back in the mouth, namely the posterior-most inferior molars and upper premolars/molars. A recent study has reported the larger cusp of these teeth to have a mean breadth of 13mm for female wolves and 14mm for male wolves in the case of lower molars, and 16mm for female wolves and 17mm for male wolves in the case of upper pre-molars [56]. ...
... First, considering how the aforementioned behavioral attributes behind "playing" and "feeding" are likely to produce different biomechanical movements, it is likely that this is a notable change in the way force is exerted. From another perspective, comments by Toledo-González et al. [56] note that sexual dimorphism is an important component in wolf dental attributes. While controlling the intervention of different sexes in tooth marked samples is difficult, especially in the case of wild wolf samples, the lack of intra-group clusters and detectable patterns in each of the projected feature spaces ( Figure 6) is likely to imply that this is not a significant conditioning factor in the case of tooth pits and scores. ...
Human populations have been known to develop complex relationships with large carnivore species throughout time, with evidence of both competition and collaboration to obtain resources throughout the Pleistocene. From this perspective, many archaeological and palaeontological sites present evidence of carnivore modifications to bone. In response to this, specialists in the study of microscopic bone surface modifications have resorted to the use of 3D modeling and data science techniques for the inspection of these elements, reaching novel limits for the discerning of carnivore agencies. The present research analyzes the tooth mark variability produced by multiple Iberian wolf individuals, with the aim of studying how captivity may affect the nature of tooth marks left on bone. In addition to this, four different populations of both wild and captive Iberian wolves are also compared for a more in-depth comparison of intra-species variability. This research statistically shows that large canid tooth pits are the least affected by captivity, while tooth scores appear more superficial when produced by captive wolves. The superficial nature of captive wolf tooth scores is additionally seen to correlate with other metric features, thus influencing overall mark morphologies. In light of this, the present study opens a new dialogue on the reasons behind this, advising caution when using tooth scores for carnivore identification and contemplating how elements such as stress maybeaffecting the wolves under study.
... Knowing the distances or distance intervals could possibly be more effective in producing more highly standardized data sets as previously mentioned by Murmann et al. (2006), especially with tooth mark patterns created in the low-density zones of bones. The use of these intervals could help to exclude the presence of one of the suspects, using the non-overlapping zones (the interval extremes) which would be useful for differentiation purposes as mentioned in other publications (Toledo González et al., 2020). Parkinson et al. (2014) did not provide information about tooth mark dimensions, but they noted that the differences between the small and large wolf groups are simply differences of degree rather than a way to determine the kinds of tooth marks. ...
The interaction between canids and humans is not free of conflicts. In Europe, wolf and dog attacks on domestic animals cause social and financial damages. Governments spend significant sums in compensation payments. Some of the allegations of wolf attacks on livestock may be false or difficult to prove. The insufficient expertise and unreliable methods used during the investigations often make it difficult to achieve a successful perpetrator identification, which leads to the stigmatization of this species and wrongly paid compensations. Despite notable advances in bite mark analysis, most studies were carried out comparing bite marks from wolves and/or dogs and taxa belonging to other families. Comparative studies of wolf and dog bite marks and tooth marks to identify a potential aggressor agent are very limited. These studies are commonly used in archaeological, paleontological and taphonomic contexts, but not in forensics. In our study, 12,120 records were reviewed and only 16 of them fulfilled the search criteria set by the authors. Only one article carried out, exclusively, a comparison of wolf and dog bite mark patterns. The aim of the present work is to review and evaluate the studies on the identification of tooth marks on bone remains caused by two subspecies belonging to the same genus, wolves and domestic dogs. Currently, in a forensic context, there is inconclusive evidence to distinguish with certainty whether death was caused by wolves or domestic dogs using the forensic analysis of tooth/bite mark patterns from both canids (beyond any reasonable doubt). New and complementary forensic tools must be developed to differentiate between these two subspecies with a higher degree of certainty. Forensic veterinary odontology could play an important role in fulfilling this goal.
This Special Issue was the result of reviewing Leonardo da Vinci's anatomical drawings of the bear foot and the horse trunk (among others) [...]
