SPECIES-RELATED FEATURES OFPROCESSUSNASALIS IN SOME WILD AND DOMESTIC LARGE RUMINANTS

Radoslav Michailov

Резюме: The nasal processes of 9 wild and domestic large ruminant species - African buffalo, European bison, blue wildebeest, yak, red deer, kudu, bison, domestic cattle, and domestic buffalo were investigated. The comparative analysis of the data showed that the nasal bones of the African buffalo, European bison, blue wildebeest and the yak, which possess one nasal process, differed from those of the red deer, kudu, bison and domestic cattle (with two nasal processes) and from the domestic buffalo (with 3 nasal processes). The comparison of animal species from the group with one nasal process showed that the nasal bone of the African buffalo differed from that of the other species by its S-shaped long nasal process. The nasal
bone of the European bison was the widest in its middle pan, whereas the nasal bone of the blue wildebeest had a convex profile. The results obtained in the animals from the group with two nasal processes showed that the nasal bone of the bison was the largest in its caudal third and then became narrower. Also, the lateral nasal process of this species was smaller than the medial one as compared to the other species in this group. The nasal bones of domestic cattle and the kudu were similar because both processes were with equal length, but in the kudu, the shape of both processes was equal with a narrow gap between them, whereas the lateral nasal process in the cattle was thinner and pointed. Unlike the other representatives of this group, the lateral nasal process of the red deer was longer than the medial one. The comparative data for the nasal bone and its processes in large ruminants could be used for express determination of the species affiliation on the basis of skull fragments with intact nasal bone and nasal processes.

Ключови думи: craniometry; nasal bone; processus nasalis; wild and domestic large ruminants

Дата на публикуване: 2023-02-02