Supernumerary cheek tooth in a Byzantine horse from Theodosius Harbour, Istanbul, Turkey

Abstract

The subject was a mandible belonging to a morphologically mature horse of the late Byzantium period, discovered during excavations at Theodosius Harbour in Istanbul, Turkey that had a developmental molar tooth abnormality, i.e. a supernumerary molar tooth. This is an interesting case due to the rarity of supernumerary molars in archaeozoological materials, and also because it is the only such case of equid polydontia from the late Byzantium period from that archaeological site.