during hibernation, we quickly collected data and released the individuals at the points of capture.
Each individual digit was cleaned of surrounding tissues of the phalanx, and then put in 5%
nitric acid to decalcify for 48 h. Decalcified digits were stained for 200 min in Harris’s haematoxylin.
Subsequently, stained bones were dehydrated through successive ethanol stages of 70, 80, 95,
and 100% for approximately 1 h in each concentration. Phalanges were then processed for paraffin
embedding in small blocks. Cross-sections (13 μm) thick were obtained by means of rotary
microtome, and the phalanx with the smallest medullar cavity was selected and mounted on glass
slides. I observed the sections though a light microscope and photographed the best of them using a
Motic BA300 digital camera mounted on a Moticam2006 light microscope at × 400 magnifications.
The analysis of lines of arrested growth (LAGs) was performed by two persons (WB Liao and ZP
Mi) with previous experience of the technique. I confirmed the endosteal resorption of LAGs in this
species based on the presence of the Kastschenko Line (KL; the interface between the endosteal and
periosteal zones; Rozenblut and Ogielska 2005).