Extreme Periodontal Disease in a Brazilian Free-Tailed Bat (Molossidae: Tadarida brasiliensis) from Eastern Texas

摘要

A male Brazilian free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis), collected from a colony in Huntsville, Walker County, Texas, had severe periodontal disease resulting in extensive loss of teeth. Although demonstrating normal activity and a healthy appearance, this individual had only eight teeth: normal complement is 30--32 teeth. The remaining teeth appeared to be sufficient for this individual to adequately process food and maintain an average body weight as reported for this species.