Short Communication
Morphological, morphometric and radiographic studies on the skull of lesser mole-rats (Nannospalax leucodon)
Amina Rizvanovic * ,
Nedzad Hadziomerovic ,
Pamela Bejdic ,
Jasminko Mulaomerovic

Mac Vet Rev 2022; 45 (2): 215 - 221

10.2478/macvetrev-2022-0025

Received: 16 September 2021

Received in revised form: 04 April 2022

Accepted: 12 August 2022

Available Online First: 06 September 2022

Published on: 15 October 2022

Correspondence: Amina Rizvanovic, amina.becirevic@vfs.unsa.ba
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Abstract

Lesser mole-rats (Nannospalax leucodon) are members of the Rodentia order’s Spalacidae family, and they are found in Northeastern Africa, the Balkans, Southeastern Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East, and Caucasia. The shape of the skull has a significant impact on the phenotypic appearance of animal heads, and although many domestic species have been studied, there is a lack of evidence on the macro-anatomical characteristics of the skeletal system in mole-rats. The current research was focused on the morphological, morphometric, and radiographic properties of lesser mole-rats skull in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The research was conducted on five lesser mole-rats from Bjelasnica Mountain, Bosnia and Herzegovina. We compared the results of the previously published studies, and we found a lot of similarities between Nannospalax leucodon in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Nannospalax ehrenbergi in North Iraq, as well as the Nannospalax nehringi from Eastern Anatolia.

Keywords: morphology, neurocranium, radiography, rodents, Nannospalax leucodon, splanchnocranium

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Copyright

© 2022 Rizvanovic A. This is an open-access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Citation Information

Macedonian Veterinary Review. Volume 45, Issue 2, Pages 215-221, e-ISSN 1857-7415, p-ISSN 1409-7621, DOI: 10.2478/macvetrev-2022-0025, 2022

The all content of the Macedonian Veterinary Review, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.