ABSTRACT
The current study reports the cranial morphology of Sus scrofa, with detailed comparison of different features of skull. The cranial morphology has been utilized as a tool to discriminate between the different species of wild and domesticated suids. The studied material comprises of the three skulls. The straighter snouts and slenderer crania manifests that specimens under study were wild while the sex of species was determined by the permanent canine teeth morphology, as in females the upper canines extend in ventrolateral directions and continue to grow in lateral direction while in males the upper canines extend out in anterolateral direction and curve dorsally. The estimation of suid’s ages was based on third molar eruption. The fifty-one craniometric and twenty mandibular measurements were carried out on the adult male skull and data derived from analysis of our sample was compared with previously reported data of European and Japanese wild boar. As a result of comparison of the different craniometric and mandibular parameters it was inferred that the studied specimen has larger dimensions for various parameters than the European and Japanese wild boar. The smaller cranial and mandibular values in Eurasian and Japanese wild boar may be attributed to some evolutionary, climaticor hunting pressures.
Novelty Statement | This paper presents the first craniometrical report of the Sus scrofa from Northern Punjab, Pakistan. Furthermore, the current study provides the reference data for upcoming morphological and evolutionary studies of wild and domestic Suids in Pakistan.
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