Estudo anatômico dos tratos e aptérios torácicos e abdominais em Suindara (Tyto alba, Scopoli 1769)

Abstract

In order to study the topographical and descriptive thoracic and abdominal tracts and apteria in barn owls (Tyto alba, Scopoli 1769), 15 adult birds (06 males and 09 females), weighing 430g on average, donated after death by the Superintendent of the Brazilian Institute of Environmental and Natural Resources - IBAMA located in Pernambuco, were used. The birds were fixed by subcutaneous, intramuscular and intracavitary infusion of a 10% formaldehyde solution and immersed in the same solution for 48 hours. Afterwards, with the aid of surgical instruments, the feathers from the ventral, lateral and dorsal trunk regions were sectioned near the follicle, leaving 0.2 to 0.3 cm from the rack for easier visualization and recording of tracts and apteria. The Gallus gallus domesticus species was used for comparative morphology. The study showed that tracts and apteria presented undefined limits which may be smaller or larger than the regions where they are located. In addition to the tracts and apteria described in the comparative standard study, others were found (ventral humeral tract, cranial humeral apterium, interscapular apterium, ventral abdominal apterium, lateral and abdominal apteria and dorsopelvic apterium) which were analyzed, named and described according to their anatomical relations. It was observed that the pectoral and sternal tracts are attached cranially and caudally, giving the pectoral apterium a crescent-shaped conformation. The lateral body apterium is divided by the body´s lateral tract into two side parts, cranial and caudal. The sternal apterium does not communicate with other apteria cranially, but caudally, it extends as the ventral abdominal apterium. The lateral and medial abdominal tracts are delicate and showed morphological differences in the number of rows of feathers related to sex, being the lateral more developed in males and the medial more developed in females. Even though they belong to a different order, the Tyto alba species presents morphologically similar apteria (shape, size and syntopy relations) to the Gallus gallus domesticus species, as well as anatomical features that characterize their particular morphology and help in identifying sexual species.