Age-Related Change and Allometry of Skull and Canine of Sea Otters, Enhydra lutris

Journal of Veterinary Medical Science

Masatsugu SUZUKI¹  Noriyuki OHTAISHI¹  Kaoru HATTORI¹  Alexander M. BURDIN² 

[1] Laboratory of Wildlife Biology, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University;Alaska SeaLife Center

关键词: allometry;    Enhydra lutris;    growth;    morphology;    skull;   

DOI  :  10.1292/jvms.65.439

学科分类：兽医学

来源: Japanese Society of Veterinary Science

【 摘 要 】

References(38)Cited-By(6)Skulls and canines of 460 sea otters from Lopatka Cape, Kamchatka, were examined to assess development patterns, individual variation and sexual differences. An allometric formula was applied to morphometrical data, and the relative growth of each character to total length of skull was analyzed. In both sexes, most morphometrical characters ceased growth at about 2 years of age. Canine root length increased rapidly during the first year of life, while crown length decreased due to remarkable wear. There was large individual variation in the feeding and breathing/sniffing apparatus, while there was little variation in braincase size. There were sexual differences in most characteristics, although males and females showed similar growth patterns. The coronoid process of the mandible showed positive allometry in both sexes, and we attributed this finding to feeding habits. The fact that only male mastoids showed positive allometry may be due to the need for male otters to maintain a passing territory.

【 授权许可】

Unknown