Video: Click hereAbstractGround squirrel incisors grow continually, preserving a record of their most recent weeks of life. Previous research demonstrated that an abnormality in the surface of incisor enamel and dentin of thirteen-lined ground squirrels (
Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) corresponded with hibernation. Using scanning electron microscopy, we compared internal microstructure of incisor enamel deposited during and outside of hibernation to determine if external disruptions corresponded to differences in internal microstructure. However, after documenting microstructure for several incisors, we did not observe microstructural differences. Thus, the surface abnormalities of incisor enamel that form during hibernation are not associated with abnormalities in internal enamel microstructure.
