Abstract
We report here characteristic features of hair anatomy of all fifteen muroid rodent species occurring in Sri Lanka. We examined cuticular scale patterns, cross-sections, medullae patterns, hair profile and made measurements (length and maximum width) of dorsal guard hairs. We also developed a dichotomous key for identification of rodent species based on hair anatomy, supported with photomicrographs of cuticular scales, medullae and illustrations of cross-sections. All species except spiny rats (Mus mayori and M. fernandoni) can reliably be distinguished from each other using hair anatomy, in most cases using a combination of characters. Spiny rats can only be distinguished as a group. Cuticular scale patterns and cross-sections show more heterogeneity among species, compared to other characters. Medullary cell shape, their arrangement, maximum number of cells in the widest region of the hair, hair dimensions and profiles are also useful in species identification.Ceylon Journal of Science (Bio. Sci.) 43 (2): 17-30, 2014
Highlights
Epidermal hair is a unique feature of mammals
Hair samples used in this study were from rodents collected during an island-wide survey of small mammals carried out from 2003-2005, except those of Rattus montanus, R. blanfordi, Bandicota indica, B. bengalensis and G. e. ellioti, which were obtained from the National Museum of Sri Lanka (Table 1)
Spiny rats along with G. e. ellioti differ from the other species by bearing spinous GH1
Summary
Epidermal hair is a unique feature of mammals. Anatomy of hairs is known to change according to the habitats in which mammals live, and is species-specific and important in taxonomy (Kondo, 2000; Sarkar et al, 2011; Anwar et al, 2012). There are three types of hairs located in different regions of the mammalian body; vibrissae, bristle hairs and coat hairs; of these latter is mostly used in taxonomic studies (Teerink, 1991). Coat hairs are of two types: guard hairs (GH) and under hairs (UH), with the former being of greater taxonomic importance (Marinis and Agnelli, 1993; Teerink, 1991). Of the three guard hair types GH0, GH1 and GH2, the latter two show more heterogeneity among species and are important in taxonomic studies (Teerink, 1991; Menike et al, 2012). Hair profile and dimensions (length and maximum diameter of hairs) are used (Teerink, 1991; Amerasinghe, 1983)
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