Morphologic and Morphometric Study of Skeleton of Wing and Pelvic Limb of Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca)

Osteology is one of the most important parts of anatomical studies, so that we can find useful information about animal's biological properties by examining their skeletons. The aim of this research was to study morphometric characteristics of skeleton of wing and pelvic limb of male and female Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca). Six pieces of wings, os coxae and pelvic limbs of males and females Eurasian Teal were X- rayed and cleaned. First the morphological characteristics of the bones and then the morphometric characteristics such as length, curvature index, weight of wings and pelvic limb and their ratio to total body weight were evaluated. The results were analyzed by SPSS software and independent samples T-Test (P < 0.05). the anatomical features of skeleton of wing of Eurasian Teal was similar to the other ducks (Anatidae), but in the pelvic girdle, the size of the pre-acetabular and post-acetabular parts of the ileum was approximately equal, in addition there weren't any significant change in width of the pubis after passing the caudal border of ischium. Unlike most members of the duck family that the shortness of femur is compensated by doubling the length of the leg, in Eurasian Teal the leg was only 1.5 times more elongated than the femur. The length of fibula was 3/5 of the tibiotarsal bone, and the number of longitudinal ridges on the tarsometatarsal bone was 3. Moreover, there was no significant difference in morphometric characteristics of wings and pelvic limbs in male and female birds.