Conjoined first (atlas) and second (axis) cervical vertebrae in an eastern wapiti (Cervus canadensis canadensis) from the Angel Site (1000-1400 CE, Indiana, USA)

Atlantoaxial abnormalities are rarely documented among wild animals. Many defects of segmentation in the spine are hereditary in domestic species and humans. Here, we present a block vertebra in an eastern wapiti (Cervus canadensis canadensis) from the Angel Site (12Vg1) in southern Indiana (USA) dating to 1000-1400 CE. Diagnosis used macroscopic and radiographic examination. Evidence of inflammatory response and eburnation point to functional compromise. Recorded pathologies of this nature are underrepresented in the past and present. We suggest this specimen from an adult wapiti species represents a female as this condition would have been more debilitating in an antlered stag limiting the possibility of living well into adulthood.

Automated summary

This study presents a rare case of atlantoaxial abnormality in a wild animal, specifically an eastern wapiti. Macroscopic and radiographic examination confirmed the segmentation defects in the spine, along with evidence of inflammatory response and functional compromise. Such pathologies have been underrepresented in the past and present.