Dental aging offers new insights to the first epigenetic clock for common dolphins (<i>Delphinus delphis</i>).

ABSTRACT: Determining exact age in wild odontocetes is essential for understanding population dynamics, survival, and reproduction, yet remains logistically challenging. While epigenetic aging is emerging as a valuable approach, only nine species-specific clocks currently exist. Most have been calibrated using captive known-age animals or well-studied wild populations. Only two previous studies have used dental ages from stranded or bycaught individuals. This is due to concerns that dental age inaccuracies, especially in older animals, may affect epigenetic clock performance. To explore this, we developed the first species-specific epigenetic clock for common dolphins (Delphinus delphis), analysing DNA methylation at 37,492 cytosine-phosphate-guanine sites in skin samples from stranded and by

SUBMITTER: Hanninger EF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12330489 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature