LITERATURE REVIEW: COMPARISON BETWEEN THE VERTEBRAL COLUMN OF THE ORCA (ORCINUS ORCA) AND THE HORSE (EQUUS CABALLUS)

The spine is composed of a set of vertebrae, connected by intervertebral discs. It isarticulated through synovial joints present in the articular processes. Because the orca (Orcinus orca) and the horse (Equus caballus) evolved in different habitats, their vertebral formula differs numerically and m...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Fabio Junior, Luiz Carlos, Uemura, Missae Dora
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2016
País:Brasil
Institución:Faculdades Metropolitanas Unidas (FMU)
Repositorio:Atas de Saúde Ambiental
Idioma:portugués
OAI Identifier:oai:ojs.fmu.br:article/1478
Acceso en línea:https://revistaseletronicas.fmu.br/index.php/ASA/article/view/1478
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Anatomy
Cetacean
Evolution
Ungulates
Vertebrae.
Anatomia
Cetáceos
Evolução
Ungulados
Vértebras.
Descripción
Sumario:The spine is composed of a set of vertebrae, connected by intervertebral discs. It isarticulated through synovial joints present in the articular processes. Because the orca (Orcinus orca) and the horse (Equus caballus) evolved in different habitats, their vertebral formula differs numerically and morphologically. This study aimed to identify and compare morphological differences and adaptive features of the vertebral column of Orcinus orca and Equus caballus. Data was collected through a literature review on number of vertebrae, vertebral shape and morphofunctional adaptive characters for each subject species and related aquatic mammals. According to the literature, both species must have evolved from a single vertebral column morphological model under differential selective environmental pressures. The number of vertebrae per column segment also differs between O. orca and E. caballus, notably because of cervical vertebrae fusion from Atlas to C3 and C4 to C7. Comparing the vertebral formula of Orcinus orca C7, T11-13, L10-12, Ca20-24 = 50-54, and Equuscaballus C7, T18, L6, S5, Ca15-21 = 51-57, clearly corroborates the single model hypothesis.