Anatomical Study of the Variations of the Facial bones in Skull of the Camel (Camelus dromendarius) in Nigeria

Abstract

The morphological features of facial region of the camel skull were investigated. A total of 42 camel skulls (30 mature and 12 immature) from three geographical locations (Maiduguri, Kano and Sokoto) in Nigeria were used in this study. The morphological features of the nasal region of the camel skulls were observed to be composed of the os nasale, os incisivivum, os lacrimale, maxilla and part of the os frontalale as reported for other domestic animals. Variations in the morphological arrangement of the incisive, maxilla and nasal bones of the nasal region in camel skulls for both mature and immature animals were observed to show two typical variations as nasomaxilloincisive notch (80%) and nasoincisive notch (20%) in all samples studied. Slit-like fissures were also observed at the frontomaxillary suture area in 90.5% mature and 92% immature camel skulls. These fissures were observed to be either rectangular or oval in shape and bilateral in 95% while in the remaining were either absent or unilateral. However, there were a wide opening on each side of the nasal bone and could be classified into two types (fIssura frontomaxillaris and fissura nasofrontomaxillaris) according to various patterns of articulations of the neighbouring bones. The nasal region morphological information provided in this study will contribute to knowledge of the morphological pattern of the fissures of facial bones in skull that can play a prominent role in osteological investigation or osteoarchaeology, and also offer elements for eventual comparative studies that can be used for tracing origin of the animal.

Key words: Morphology, variations, facial bones, skull, camel