About cases of pathology of the dental system In Archidiskodon meridionalis meridionalis (Nesti, 1825) from Georgievsk sand pit (Stavropol Territory, Russia)

Abstract

Two cases of the dental system’s dysfunction in Archidiskodon meridionalis meridionalis found in the Georgievsk sand pit (Stavropol Territory, Russia; Early Pleistocene, Psekups Faunal complex) are described. One of the tusks is missing in one of the elephant’s skull, and its alveolus is overgrown. Probably, the tusk was broken off already in the alveolus at the adult animal, after which its growth process did not renew. On the skull from a skeleton of the second animal on the left upper jaw there is a disturbance of the M2 teeth change on M3 teeth. Tooth M2 is somewhat displaced lingually because of its falling delay. The anterior part of tooth M3 is beveled buccally relatively to the axis of the crown approximately at 104°. At the same time, the medial half of the first six enamel plates were significantly turned out laterally. On the other teeth noticeable changes were not noted. An obvious cause of this anomaly was a disruption of M3 growth rate and slowing of the rate of crown wearing and resorption of two posterior roots of M2. The described pathology was probably not a consequence of genetic predispositions, infection, or trauma. There are signs of osteodystrophy at separate bones of the skeleton.