Fifteen dry dentate and complete mandible samples from the White Rasquera goat breed were studied for symmetry. Thirty-one landmarks were digitally located on the images of the lateral and medial aspects of each hemimandible. Distances between these landmarks allowed the evaluation of the whole hemimandible and also the neural mandible. In the studied samples, the mandible was rather symmetrical, especially in the medial neural part, and in general, there was no side dominance. Only the diastema differed significantly between the sides, and this was related to the rostral part (incisive arch). The incisive region was the least symmetrical region of the caprine mandible, indicating a modular structure more conservative for the neural part. If unsigned asymmetry is interpreted as a measure of developmental stability, then the studied breed presented a marked ability to develop in good fitness despite the harsh environment. The measurements presented here can also be used as a reference for researchers designing experimental studies, especially on mandibular catch-up growth, and as an aid for zooarchaeologists comparing results from dead animals with those from living goat populations.
Animals ; Diastema ; Goats ; Jaw ; Mandible* ; Mandibular Nerve

The aim of this study was to produce a simple and inexpensive technique for estimating the obturator foramen area (OFA) from young calves based on the hypothesis that OFA can be extrapolated from simple linear measurements. Three linear measurements - dorsoventral height, craneocaudal width and total perimeter of obturator foramen - were obtained from 55 bovine hemicoxae. Different algorithms for determining OFA were then produced with a regression analysis (curve fitting) and statistical analysis software. The most simple equation was OFA (mm2) = [3,150.538 + (36.111*CW)] - [147,856.033/DH] (where CW = craneocaudal width and DH = dorsoventral height, both in mm), representing a good nonlinear model with a standard deviation of error for the estimate of 232.44 and a coefficient of multiple determination of 0.846. This formula may be helpful as a repeatable and easily performed estimation of the obturator foramen area in young bovines. The area of the obturator foramen magnum can thus be estimated using this regression formula.
Biometry ; Foramen Magnum ; Nonlinear Dynamics ; Osteology

Paedomorphosis is the retention of juvenile morphology at maturity and is important in generating evolutionary change in domestic species and species in the wild. This preliminary study compared morphological characteristics of seven domestic cat pure breeds and felid species from around the world. An original procedure based on elliptical Fourier (EF) methods was applied to head lateral views of specimens and were assessed in order to analyse head profile. For comparative purposes three domestic kittens of different ages and three species of genus Lynx were also used. EF descriptors, allowed for the quantification of the head profile. Using the Fourier transform, reconstruction of the mean head profile revealed that there was a general shape difference between wild cats, domestic cats and kittens. Results suggested that variability in head profile differentiate quite well between adult cats and kittens, but domestic and wild cats appeared grouped into a similar cluster. The similarity between breeds can thus be attributed more to the general head profile than to flatness, i.e. to the general conformation rather than facial profile. Therefore, no effect of paedomorphism on the studied breeds can be undertaken. The present approach opens interesting ethnological perspectives for the aloidic characterisation for domestic breeds.
Adult ; Animals ; Cats* ; Fourier Analysis ; Head ; Humans ; Lynx ; Skull ; Subject Headings