UC Davis

Museum skull specimens from 224 Arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) were examined macroscopically using an established protocol for examination of mammalian skull specimens. Foxes were collected from coastal and island regions of Alaska, USA, except for two individuals. Collection years ranged from 1931 to 2016 with most specimens collected during the 1950s and 1960s. The study population comprised more females (n = 134, 59.8%) than males (n = 83, 37.0%) and individuals of unknown sex (n = 7, 3.1%). There were 108 (48.2%) young adults, 115 (51.3%) adults, and one (0.4%) individual of unknown age. A total of 8,891 teeth (94.5%) were available for examination. The most common types of pathology observed were periodontitis (n = 222, 99.1%), dental fractures (n = 175, 78.1%) and attrition/abrasion (n = 198, 88.4%). Periapical lesions (n = 12, 5.3%), temporomandibular joint (TMJ) osteoarthritis (n = 3, 1.3%) and root number variation (n = 5, 2.2%) were less common. Enamel hypoplasia was noted in eight foxes (3.6%), all of which were discovered on St. Matthew Island, Alaska, in 1963. As in other canid species, periodontitis, attrition/abrasion and tooth fractures are common in the Arctic fox, while TMJ pathology is rare. Loss of tooth crown substance probably reflects the influence of diet, interspecific and conspecific aggression and oral trauma due to trapping and hunting methods. The high prevalence of periodontitis is probably also due to the combined effects of diet, genetics and host immune reaction to oral bacteria.