Anatomia comparativa do crânio de aves das espécies Athenes cunicularia, Ara ararauna E Crotophaga ani

Abstract

The comparative anatomy of bird skulls is extremely important for studies of morphological, physiological and morphofunctional characters. Birds are the largest population of wild fauna in the world, with a wide geographic distribution, Brazil ranks third among the countries with the most identified species. In this work our objective is to identify and compare the cranial structures of three wild birds, namely:Crotophaga ani, Psittacidae: Ara ararauna and Athene cunicularia. The skulls were thawed and manual defleshing was carried out with the aid of dissection material, an adaptation to the maceration technique in running water was used, with the aim of reducing water consumption in the work carried out. The main structures identified and compared were the palatine bone and the pterygoid bones, where similarities between species Crotophaga ani Athene cunicularia. The orbital region of the three species with and without the presence of a sclerotic ring. And this differentiation is reflected in the feeding behavior of the three species, thus making it possible to reaffirm how important anatomical studies are.