MALOCCLUSION IN AN AFRICAN RODENT - IS IT NECESSARILY FATAL

The greater cane rat, Thryonomys swinderianus, is the second largest r odent in the southern African subregion; only the porcupine is larger. The incisors are very large and curved and their gnawing action again st each other gives them chisel edges. The common belief that a broken incisor may lead to severe stress or even death because growth of the corresponding incisor, in the opposing jaw, cannot be controlled by w earing away, is not necessarily true for all rodents. At least in the greater cane rat malocclusion does not necessarily lead to the incisor s entering the skull or any obvious signs of stress or suffering.