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31 December 2022 CT Study of the Cranial Osteology of the Gray Short-Tailed Opossum Monodelphis domestica (Wagner, 1842) (Marsupialia, Didelphidae) and Comments on the Internal Nasal Skeleton Floor
John R. Wible
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

The individual bones of the adult cranium of the gray short-tailed opossum, Monodelphis domestica (Wagner, 1842) are described and illustrated in multiple views based on CT scans. The author previously reported on the outer bony surfaces of the skull of Monodelphis Burnett, 1830, and the current contribution is a companion piece, paying particular attention to the inner bony surfaces (within the endocranium and nasal cavity) and the facets between individual cranial elements, including the ethmo- and frontoturbinals.

Comments are provided on the internal nasal floor skeleton, which in M. domestica includes a fused conglomerate formed by the medial palatine processes of the premaxillae, the vomer, the ethmoid, the presphenoid, and the orbitosphenoids. This conglomerate includes horizontal shelves just dorsal to the hard palate, and occurs widely in marsupials but is currently unknown in monotremes and placentals.

John R. Wible "CT Study of the Cranial Osteology of the Gray Short-Tailed Opossum Monodelphis domestica (Wagner, 1842) (Marsupialia, Didelphidae) and Comments on the Internal Nasal Skeleton Floor," Annals of Carnegie Museum 87(4), 249-289, (31 December 2022). https://doi.org/10.2992/007.087.0401
Published: 31 December 2022
KEYWORDS
ala vomeris
Didelphis marsupialis
Dromiciops
Erinaceus
medial palatine process of premaxilla
Tachyglossus
vomer
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