A MORPHOLOGICAL STUDY ON THE SKULL OF DROMEDARY CAMEL (CAMELUS DROMEDARIUS)

The present morphological study was carried out on the skull of dromedary camel. The skull of the camel was irregularly pentagonal in outline and was divided into four surfaces i.e., frontal, basal, nuchal and lateral. The frontal region of the skull was wide and orbits were present laterally. The occipital bone formed the entire nuchal surface of the skull. A rough transverse ridge separated the parietal and nuchal surfaces. The mastoid foramen was very large and situated in a deep fossa in the occipital bone. The cornual processes or horn cores were absent. At the rostro-lateral margin of the orbit, a deep fissure, the supraorbital foramen was observed. The maxillary tuberosity and facial crest were absent. The infraorbital foramen was present in the maxilla bone just above the level of a second superior premolar tooth. The premaxilla bone had a narrow, pointed body that was dorso-medially concave. The nasal bones were notched rostromedial. The mandible was long, narrow and dorsomedially concave. The vertical ramus of the mandible was thin and convex caudally with a thick and wide rostral border and less pronounced angles. The coronoid process was almost straight with a slightly pointed end caudally. The condyloid process was large and presented extensive articular surfaces on its lateral surface, which were convex. A shallow mandibular notch was present between the condyloid and coronoid processes. The mandibular foramen was present in the middle of the medial surface of the mandible.