Dental anomalies in wild and domestic Sus scrofa in Illinois

The cleaned skulls of 39 wild and 30 domestic pigs from southern Illinois (USA) were assessed for dental anomalies including polydonty, oligodonty, misalignment, and rotation. Dental anomalies occurred in 16 wild and 15 domestic pigs. Oligodonty (either bilateral or unilateral) was the most common anomaly, occurring in 9 wild (23.1% of the sample) and 15 (50%) domestic pigs. In 22 of the 24 individuals exhibiting oligodonty, this anomaly involved the lower first premolar (P1. Given the placement of P1, oligodonty may reflect a trend toward reduction of the dental arcade from the primitive eutherian number. Domesticated species are reported to have more anomalies than wild counterparts because of inbreeding. We found no difference in the number of dental anomalies between domestic and wild pigs.