Animal Molecular Breeding 2016, Vol.6, No.2, 1-6
4
Usuriensis; N.p.cancrivora
differs in diet typical of the
cancrivorus
subspecies (De La Rosa and Nocke, 2000)
consisting of 40% invertebrates, 33% plant materials, 27% vertebrates (Zevellof, 2002). This carnivore-omnivore
thus possesses a peculiar occipital morphology relative to similar sized carnivores (McClintock, 1981; Reid and
Helgen, 2008).
The glossopharyngeal, vagus, accessory, facial and mandibular nerves all contribute to the
extremely fine use of the head (Ewer, 1985) in the species and has been observed to exhibit polymorphic
variations in course through epigenetic and inconstantly (McClintock, 1981; De Lahunta, 1983; Gibson and
Wagner, 2000) located canals and sometimes multiple foramina in the area among studied populations (Samuel et
al., 2015).
3.2 Ontogenetic patterns
The cranial neural crest cells are known precursors of the mesenchyme of 3
rd
, 4
th
and 5
th
pharyngeal arches with
early instructions on cell types to form (Noden and De Lahunta, 1985) and develop into parts of the skull whose
fates are determined by Hox genes (
Hoxa-3
).
Allometric changes within pups, juveniles and adults age groups with reference to occipital area metric changes
are presently on-going to compare different subspecies data. Correlated progression in some embryonic skull parts
may have induced the phenotypic shape plasticity observed with consequences on muscle and nerve placements
(Noden and De Lahunta, 1985; Gilbert, 2006) under various developmental constraints in the subspecies
environments.
4 Conclusion
N.p. procyonoides,
being one of the most variably sized species (McClintock, 1981; Reid and Helgen, 2008) with
wide geographic radiations which have demonstrated different morphotypes in occipital area may be pre-existent
mutants. Probably, the
N. p.
viverrinus
is a more recent form than
ussuriensis
or
procyonoides
. No literary
evidence to the best of our awareness is available on tropical variants of
cancrivoral
subspecies. We undertook
this review of the specified area of the skull with a view to provide an updated appreciation of the cranial
morphology of known subspecies and an awareness of developmental modeling influences which may produce
morphotypes by selection predisposed by environmental stress factors and how fundamental developmental
processes structure variability. The study shall also be useful in population studies, skull modeling, species
anthropometry as well as solving taxonomic ambiguities in the species for conservation purposes.
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