Morphology, morphometry and some aspects of clinical anatomy in the skull and mandible of Sharri sheep

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate and record data on the morphometrical parameters of the skull and mandible in Sharri sheep. We have evaluated 34 skulls (24 females and 10 males) of Sharri sheep (Ovis aries), a local breed of sheep from Northern Macedonia. Fifty-one measurements were evaluated in total: 37 parameters on the skull and 14 parameters on the mandible. The results of the study show that, in general, the morphology and morphometric parameters of the skull and mandible, of Sharri sheep are similar to those of other sheep breeds with few differences. The mean skull length (SL), skull height (SH), distance between two supraorbital foramina (DBTSF), orbital length (OL), mandible length (ML) and Sharri sheep diastema (D) were 247.47 ± 13.12 mm, 104.71 ± 6.21 mm, 50.73 ± 3.44 mm, 41.21 ± 1.99 mm, 185.91 ± 13.33 mm and 45.81 ± 3.73 mm, respectively. The results also show that out of 51 parameters, only 13 show a statistically significant difference between females and males, particularly the distance of akrokranion to opisthion (AO), articular surface length of mandibular condyle (ASL) and anterior limit of the mandibular foramen to cranial border of ramus mandible (RBMFRMRM). The findings of this study are important in many aspects: morphologically, morphometrically and especially clinically, during surgical interventions in the head region. With a lack of information in current literature on the investigated parameters in this sheep breed, the present data are a solid basis for further studies in comparative anatomy with other ruminants and in other areas such as zooarchaeology and animal welfare.