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Monkeys in Japan lost tooth enamel when their forest was destroyed

Macaques living on Yakushima Island in the 1980s experienced severe enamel hypoplasia, probably caused by extreme stress resulting from human activities

By Madeleine Cuff

31 May 2023

Japanese Macaque (Macaca fuscata) pair, Yakushima Island, Kagoshima, Japan

Japanese macaques on Yakushima Island, where monkeys in the 1980s experienced stress-related dental issues

Hiroya Minakuchi/Minden/naturep​l.com

Monkeys on a Japanese island experienced a severe loss of tooth enamel during the 1980s, which researchers believe was caused by the stress of culling programmes and the destruction of their habitat.

The condition would have been extremely painful and made it difficult for the macaques to eat, says Ian Towle at the Spanish National Research Center for Human Evolution in Burgos. “Their teeth will wear down to nothing and it will expose the living part …

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