Anatomical investigation on the craniofacial and ocular morphometrics of the male Western Cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis)

Abstract

The heron species, Cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) can be found all over the world. In the South-Western region of Nigeria, they are colonial, white in colour, and are seen in open lands and around water bodies. Morphometric data are important parameter in the assessment of functional morphology, hence we here present for the first time, data on the craniofacial indices of cattle egret. The cranium, nasal, orbital and beak morphometric indices and correlation data of the cattle egret were investigated on the fresh specimen and macerated skull of the male cattle egrets, using the GraphPad Prism. The height of the cranium was 33.92±0.970 cm, while the cranium length and breadth were 52.92±1.800 and 34.48±1.714, respectively. The right eye socket length, 36.17±5.636 and breadth, 31.67±2.160 were slightly greater than the left eye socket length, 35.92±4.128 and breadth, 31.00±2.757. There was a strong positive correlation between the right eye socket breadth and the left eye socket breadth (r=0.940), and also, a very strong positive correlation was found between the right and the left eye socket length (r=0.981). Results showed the foramen magnum length and breadth to be 19.17±0.753 and 18.83±0.753, respectively, however, a low positive correlation was recorded between the foramen magnum length and breadth (r=0.059). A strong positive correlation was observed between the upper beak length and the lower beak length (r=0.901), while similar values were recorded for the nasal breadth and length, respectively. Data generated from this study will prove useful in comparative, regional and clinical anatomy and could also help in identifying archaeological remains of the cattle egrets.