Shallow defect morphology in mountain gorillas may have led to an underestimation of LEH prevalence in past studies. Defect depth is used as a proxy for insult severity, but depth might be influenced by inter- and intra-specific variation in enamel growth. Future studies should test whether severe insults are associated with deeper defects, as might be the case with Haloko, a wild-captured gorilla. Ongoing histologic studies incorporating associated behavioral records will test possible factors that underlie differences in defect morphology.
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