THE RELATIVE AGE STRUCTURE AND BODY MASSES OF COMPLETE WILD-CAPTURED COLONIES OF 2 SOCIAL MOLE-RATS, THE COMMON MOLE-RAT, CRYPTOMYS-HOTTENTOTUS-HOTTENTOTUS AND THE DAMARALAND MOLE-RAT, CRYPTOMYS-DAMARENSIS

The relative ages of individuals in a complete wild‐captured colony of 13 Cryptomys hottentotus hottentotus and a complete wild‐captured colony of 25 Cryptomys damarensis were determined by means of tooth wear and eruption patterns and through the degree of ossification of their skeletons. From sequential tooth wear and eruption patterns four relative age classes were discerned in C. h. hottentotus and five in C. damarensis. These relative age class allocations were supported by the studies on the ossification of the skeletons. In C. damarensis, older animals are not necessarily the larger‐sized individuals. In C. h. hottentotus, however, older animals are usually the larger‐sized individuals. The reproductive pair in each of the Cryptomys species are the oldest or amongst the oldest individuals in the colony. Individuals in a second colony of C. damarensis kept under laboratory conditions for three years maintained greatly disparate body masses which were correlated with the role of the individual within the colony and not, where it was known, with the age of the animal. An analysis of 13 body and skull measurements performed on a complete colony of 13 C. h. hottentotus and a complete colony of 25 C damarensis revealed that only C. damarensis showed sexual dimorphism. This dimorphism was apparent from an early age but became more pronounced in older animals. Copyright © 1990, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved