PATTERNS OF CHEEK TOOTH WEARING IN REINDE ER (RANGIFER TARANDUS) FROMDIFFERENT POPULATIONS

A comparative study of age changes in the rate of wearing mandible che ek teeth in wild and domestic reindeer (Rangifer tarandus L., 1758) fo rm four different populations was carried out. The age of animals was determined by annual layers in tooth cementum. The rate of tooth weari ng in deer decreases in the following order: from Novaya Zemlya Island s > from Yamal Peninsula > from Taymir Peninsula > from Bolshezemelska ya Tundra. Determining the age by the of tooth wear can't be accurate. The patterns of wearing the different teeth are ascertained to differ in deer within the same population. The buccal and lingual sides of t eeth are worn differently. Differences in the rate of wearing the firs t molar in young and adult animals have been studied.