Comparative skull morphology of Canis lupus familiaris and Cerdocyon thous

Abstract

Canis lupus familiaris and Cerdocyon thous are mammals of the Canidae family. However, when it comes to environmental preservation, the wild canid stands out for its role as a recruiter of native and cultivated plants. The present study aims to describe, in a comparative way, the skeleton of C. thous, taking into account the lack of information about the osteology of this animal, in addition to the importance of such knowledge to institute, when necessary, clinical and surgical treatment. Skulls of wild dogs were submitted to the process of maceration, cleaning and clarification. At the end of these steps, a comparative morphological and morphometric analysis was performed between the prepared parts and the skulls of domestic dogs from the Animal Anatomy Sector of the State University of the North Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro. During the execution, a series of findings were found in the wild canid that diverged from the domestic one. In addition to the measurement of 18 linear measurements and the calculation of craniometric indices. Although there is no morphological classification for the bush dog, the cephalic index and the other indexes evaluated in this experiment demonstrated similarities between it and domestic dogs classified as mesaticephalic. In the analysis of the cranial foramina, it was possible to measure the distances between these anatomical details and the palpable points that are used as guidance in anesthetic blocks. Through this methodology we identified which parameters used for domestic dogs can be transcended for the wild canid and, from then on, be useful for the area of veterinary anesthesiology.