Age estimation in Iberian wildcats Felis silvestris, by canine tooth sections

We have applied counting of annual cementum lines in canine root to estimat e the age of 165 Iberian wildcats Felis silvestris Schreber, 1775. Results indicate that (1) closure of apical foramen of canine root occurs from 6 to 18 months of age, (2) cementum lines are formed in autumn-winter, (3) the first autumn-winter, either a non-continuous line, a continuous "kitten lin e" or no line can be formed, depending on individual variation in timing of closure of apical foramen, (4) since 7% of wildcats form a kitten line, it needs to be identified in order to avoid an incorrect counting, (5) the fi rst continuous line useful for counting is formed during the second autumn- winter, when animals are 21 months old. For Iberian wildcats, age in years can be estimated by adding 1 to the number of continuous lines. For a more accurate estimation, we propose a formula including months from birth to fi rst line formation, number of annual lines, and months from last line forma tion to death (A = 9m + Ly + Mm).