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Variation and dynamics of a fossil antelope population

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 April 2016

Björn Kurtén*
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Helsinki, SF-00170 Helsinki 17, Finland

Abstract

656 mandibles and isolated teeth of the bovid Pachytragus solignaci Robinson from two localities in the Miocene Beglia Formation, Gafsa, Tunisia, have been individually aged on the basis of ontogenetic development and state of dental wear. The sample probably represents normal but seasonally restricted mortality. Life table analysis indicates an annual mortality rate of 25–30%, increasing in old animals. Dental dimensions are affected by stabilizing selection which sets in as the tooth comes into function, earlier mortality being nonselective in that respect.

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Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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