Sex- and Age Related Differences in Tooth Row Length of Small Mammals: Mice

The harvest mouse (Micromys minutes), striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius), yellownecked mouse (A. flavicollis), wood mouse (A. sylvaticus), pygmy field mouse (A. uralensis), eastern house mouse (Mus musculus) and northern birch mouse (Sicista betulina) from Lithuania were analysed for sex and age differences in tooth row length (TRL). The maxillary TRL was slightly longer in A. sylvaticus and A. uralensis females (p < 0.1), whereas the mandibular TRL – in M. minutes females (p < 0.01). Age-related differences both in maxillary and mandibular TRLs were best pronounced in A. flavicollis. In all mice species the age-related overlap in TRL values was quite high. The correlation of TRL with the body weight and length in mice was not as strong as in voles. A better correlation of the body weight and length was found with maxillary TRL, but even in cases of the highest correlation in A. sylvaticus, M. musculus and S. betulina the individual.s weight may be predicted from the maxillary TRL just in 17–26% of cases. Thus, TRL in mice in comparison with voles is less suitable for prediction of the individual.s sex, age, and body weight and length from the material retrieved from owl pellets.