Estudio paleopatológico de una hemimandíbula de Tethytragus (Artiodactyla, Mammalia) del Mioceno Medio de Somosaguas (Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid)

Abstract

In this paper we study the paleopathological origin of a cavity in the talonid of the first molar in a jaw of Tethytragus (Artiodactyla, Mammalia) from the Middle Miocene of Somosaguas Norte (Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain). The molar shows an irregular reduction of the crown height in the talonid, and a great cavity connecting the occlusal surface with the pulp, surrounded by repairing dentine. The origin of the paleopathology could be related with a traumatism that broke the crown and favoured the production of dental caries and the cavity. Other possible non-pathological causes of this anomaly are rejected in this case. Dental caries are quite uncommon in fossils from herbivorous mammals. The discovery of a dental caries in a Tethytragus jaw, even favoured by a previous trauma, is interesting for the history of this pathology and for studies about Tethytragus diet.