Morphometrics and behavior of a wild Asian elephant exhibiting disproportionate dwarfism

BMC Research Notes

Tennekoon V Pushpakumara²  U Sameera Weerathunga²  Shermin de Silva¹ 

[1] Department of Fish, Wildlife & Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80526, USA;Uda Walawe Elephant Research Project, EFECT, Colombo, Sri Lanka

关键词: Dwarf;    Elephas maximus;    Chondrodysplasia;    Achondroplasia;   

Others  :  1091422
DOI  :  10.1186/1756-0500-7-933

 received in 2014-05-01, accepted in 2014-12-12,  发布年份 2014

【 摘 要 】

Background

Dwarfism is a condition characterized by shorter stature, at times accompanied by differential skeletal growth proportions relative to the species-typical physical conformation. Causes vary and are well-documented in humans as well as certain mammalian species in captive or laboratory conditions, but rarely observed in the wild.

Case presentation

We report on a single case of apparent dwarfism in a free-ranging adult male Asian elephant in Sri Lanka, comparing physical dimensions to those of other males in the population as well as in previous literature. The subject M459 was found to have a shoulder height of approximately 195 cm, is shorter than the average height of typical mature males, with a body length of 218 cm. This ratio of body length to height deviates from what is typically observed, which is approximately 1:1, but was similar to the attributes of a dwarf elephant in captivity documented in 1955. We report on behavior including the surprising observation that M459 appears to have a competitive advantage in intrasexual contests. We discuss how this phenotype compares to cases of dwarfism in other non-human animals.

Conclusion

M459 exemplifies a rare occurrence of disproportionate dwarfism in a free-ranging wild mammal that has survived to reproductive maturity and appears otherwise healthy.

【 授权许可】

   
2014 de Silva et al.; licensee BioMed Central.

【 图 表 】

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