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POLYDACTYLY AND OTHER FEATURES OF THE MANUS OF THE VAQUITA, PHOCOENA SINUS
Author(s) -
OrtegaOrtiz Joel G.,
VillaRamírez Bernardo,
Gersenowies Jorge R.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
marine mammal science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.723
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1748-7692
pISSN - 0824-0469
DOI - 10.1111/j.1748-7692.2000.tb00924.x
Subject(s) - manus , phocoena , polydactyly , anatomy , phalanx , population , ulna , medicine , biology , porpoise , environmental health , harbour , computer science , programming language
A bstract The vaquita ( Phocoena sinus ) manus was examined in 16 individuals. The carpus has a proximal row of three bones and a cartilaginous accessory carpal element distocaudal to the ulna. Five metacarpal bones are present. A process in distocaudal aspect of Metacarpal III and an additional digital ray were present in all individuals examined. The number of phalanges in the additional digital ray varied among individuals and, sometimes, between the left and the right flipper of the same individual. The suggested phalangeal formula is I‐1, II‐7‐8, III‐6‐7, IV‐0‐3, V‐3‐4, VI‐1. The presence of this particular form of polydactyly may be the result of genetic drift in the small vaquita population.