CRANIAL SUTURE CLOSURE IN THE FRANCISCANA DOLPHIN, Pontoporia blainvillei (GERVAIS AND D?ORBIGNY, 1844)

DEL CASTILLO, DANIELA; FLORES, D.; CAPPOZZO, LUIS

MASTOZOOLOGíA NEOTROPICAL

UNIDAD DE ZOOLOGÍA Y ECOLOGÍA ANIMAL, INSTITUTO ARGENTINO DE INVESTIGACIÓN DE LAS ZONAS ARIDAS, CRICYT, CONICET

Lugar: Mendoza; Año: 2015 p. 141 - 148

0327-9383

Cranial suture closure and its bilateral asymmetry in the franciscana dolphin, Pontoporia blainvillei, were studied. Our results showed that the closure of cranial sutures exhibit low variability associated to total body size, with the exception of the premaxilla-maxilla suture which showed some correlation with bodysize. The cranial sutures of franciscana dolphins showed closure with no directional asymmetry, in accordance with the results found in dolphin species studied to date. Our results support the idea that different speciesof dolphins exhibit distinct patterns of suture closure, associated with their specific evolutionary histories and functional demands, and that there is no general common pattern.