Age-related variation in skulls of the puma (Puma concolor)

Measurements of skulls were used to determine if growth continues throughout the lifetime of a puma (Puma concolor) and if growth patterns differ between sexes. The dataset included 1,201 adult pumas and consisted of 14 cranial and 5 mandibular measurements. Ages (estimated by the amount of staining and wear of teeth) of specimens examined during our study suggested that few pumas live past ca. 9 years of age in the wild (16 of 609 adult males and 35 of 592 adult females). For both sexes, all of the characters showing no significant variation among age groups were those related to measurements of dentition, indicating that teeth reach their full-grown size by ca. 2 years of age. Growth of the cranium of pumas continues throughout most of the animal's life; males continue to grow to 7-9 years of age, and females continue to grow to 5-6 years of age.