Morphology of the Pelvic Limb Bones of the Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons, Owen, 1845)

Abstract

The wombat is a nocturnal marsupial that digs burrows and be active at night. One hind limb skeleton of a hairy-nosed wombat is used for the morphometry and morphological description of this study.The pelvic bone is 17 cm long and 14 cm wide. The wings of the ilium are parallel to the median plane. The glu- teal surface is divided by a ridge into dorsal and lateral parts. The iliac crest is straight. The caput femoris is lower than the trochanter major. The fovea capitis is very shallow and the third trochanter is feeble. The tibia and fibula were two individual bones separated by an interosseous space. There were six ossi tarsi and the pedis was complete with five digits, the hallux (first digit) of which is reduced. The rest four digits each with three phalanges. The distal phalanges were protected with long arched claws. The results were discussed with its relevant in other do- mestic and wild animals and were supported by six figures. This study provides a basic research data that will be useful for comparative anatomical studies.