Zagorodniuk,
I. 2021. The incisive foramen as character in distinguishing
morphologically similar species of mammals. Theriologia
Ukrainica, 22: 63–68.
title |
The incisive
foramen as character in distinguishing morphologically
similar species of mammals |
author(s) |
Igor Zagorodniuk (orcid: 0000-0002-0523-133X) |
affiliation |
National Museum of Natural
History, NAS of Ukraine (Kyiv, Ukraine) |
bibliography |
Theriologia Ukrainica.
2021. Vol. 22: 63–68. |
DOI |
http://doi.org/10.15407/TU2207 |
|
|
language |
English, with Ukrainian
summary, titles of tables, captures to figs |
abstract |
An analysis
of the morphology and variability of the size and
shape of a key morphological structure in the rostral
part of the skull—the incisive foramen—has been
carried out. It is shown that incisive foramina
are variable morphological structures, the features
of which are group-specific (at the level of genera
and families), and in some cases also species-specific.
At both these levels, the shape and size of the
incisive foramen have features that can serve as
criteria for species identification by osteological
patterns. Their location is important for diagnosis
because these structures are preserved in most specimens
that have suffered various kinds of damage (e.g.
in fodder residues of carnivorous mammals or in
owl pellets), and their placement in the anterior
part of the bony palate as well as them being protected
from the sides with rows of teeth makes these structures
invulnerable to trauma-related variation. It is
shown that there is a specific structure (size,
location, and shape) of incisive foramina at the
level of taxonomic groups of all ranks, from orders
to species. The analysis was performed mainly on
the examples of different groups of rodents as an
order, represented by the largest number of pairs
of close species. Examples with several different
groups, in particular with different pairs of species
of voles, mice, mole rats, ground squirrels, and
others are considered. Examples with differences
in close pairs of species in other groups (white-toothed
shrews, polecats, roe deer, etc.) are also known.
In all pairs of related species, a pattern was found,
according to which species that are restricted to
steppe ecosystems have the smallest incisive foramina,
while species from wetland habitats have large ones.
In many cases, groups of genera and families well
differ in the shape and location of incisive foramina,
and close pairs of species differ well in the size
of these structures (primarily in length), although
it is important to always consider the ontogenetic
age of specimens: in young individuals, the incisive
foramina are naturally small, similar to incisive
foramina in other species, which are characterized
by small incisive foramina in general. Based on
the known data on the role of incisive foramina
and the Jacobson organ in the life of mammals, hypotheses
have been considered that may explain the differences
in species and genera by the structure (size, location,
and shape) of incisive foramina. |
keywords |
morphologically similar
species, incisive foramen, interspecific differences. |
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