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Morphometrics of foramen magnum in African four-toed hedgehog (Atelerix albiventris)
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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the morphometry of the foramen magnum of African four-toed hedgehog (Atelerix albiventris) in Maiduguri. Fourteen hedgehog skulls (7 male and 7 female each) were used for this study. The overall mean value of foramen magnum height and width were 0.51 ± 0.05 cm and 0.64 ± 0.04 cm while occipital condylar and interparacondylar widths were 1.00 ± 0.12 cm and 1.62 ± 0.07 cm, respectively. There was no significant difference between the two sexes. The foramen magnum index was 83.4 ± 5.51 cm in males and was significantly higher than 76.3 ± 6.37 cm observed in females. The presences of dorsal notches (occipital dysplasia) were observed, that were of three distinct types. It is envisaged, that the study will provide a valuable database on the anatomy of foramen magnum of hedgehogs in Nigeria for morphological, neurological, zooarchaeological, and comparative anatomical studies.
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the morphometry of the foramen magnum of African four-toed hedgehog (Atelerix albiventris) in Maiduguri. Fourteen hedgehog skulls (7 male and 7 female each) were used for this study. The overall mean value of foramen magnum height and width were 0.51 ± 0.05 cm and 0.64 ± 0.04 cm while occipital condylar and interparacondylar widths were 1.00 ± 0.12 cm and 1.62 ± 0.07 cm, respectively. There was no significant difference between the two sexes. The foramen magnum index was 83.4 ± 5.51 cm in males and was significantly higher than 76.3 ± 6.37 cm observed in females. The presences of dorsal notches (occipital dysplasia) were observed, that were of three distinct types. It is envisaged, that the study will provide a valuable database on the anatomy of foramen magnum of hedgehogs in Nigeria for morphological, neurological, zooarchaeological, and comparative anatomical studies.
Keywords
morphometry, foramen magnum, African hedgehog
About this articleTitle
Morphometrics of foramen magnum in African four-toed hedgehog (Atelerix albiventris)
Journal
Issue
Article type
Original article
Pages
188-191
Published online
2015-05-28
Page views
1344
Article views/downloads
2118
DOI
10.5603/FM.2015.0030
Pubmed
Bibliographic record
Folia Morphol 2015;74(2):188-191.
Keywords
morphometry
foramen magnum
African hedgehog
Authors
I. Girgiri
J. O. Olopade
A. Yahaya
