Journal of
Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 December 2018 | 10(15):
13014–13016
The identification of Takin Budorcas taxicolor (Mammalia: Bovidae) through dorsal guard hair
Manokaran Kamalakannan
Mammal & Osteology Section, Zoological
Survey of India, M-Block, New Alipore, Kolkata, West
Bengal 700053, India
kamalakannanm1@gmail.com
doi: https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.3357.10.15.13014-13016
| ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:585E1C6D-259B-42DD-8BD2-64DD9EA517DF
Editor: Nishith A. Dharaiya,
HNG University, Patan,
India. Date
of publication: 26 December 2018 (online & print)
Manuscript details: Ms
# 3357 | Received 21 February 2017 | Final received 07 December 2018 | Finally
accepted 10 December 2018
Citation: Kamalakannan, M. (2018). The identification of Takin
Budorcas taxicolor
(Mammalia: Bovidae) through dorsal guard hair. Journal
of Threatened Taxa 10(15): 13014–13016; https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.3357.10.15.13014-13016
Copyright: © Kamalakannan 2018. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium,
reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and
the source of publication.
Funding: Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate
Change, Govt. of India.
Competing interests: The author declares no competing interests.
Acknowledgments: I sincerely thank Dr. Kailash
Chandra, director, Dr. C. Venkatraman,
officer-in-charge of the Mammal & Osteology Section, ,and
Dr. J.K. De, former scientist, of the Zoological
Survey of India ,for providing the facilities and encouragement to accomplish
this work.
Takin Budorcas taxicolor Hodgson
(1850) is a heavily built and clumsy-looking animal, native to northeastern India, Bhutan, China, and northern Myanmar
(Salter 1997). Budorcas
taxicolor is usually identified by its external
morphology, i.e., long, shaggy coat that varies from golden yellow to deep dark
brown, a dark stripe running on the dorsal side from head to tail, and a dark
brown face (Menon 2014). In the present study, however, it was found
that B. taxicolor can
also be identified with the help of its hair samples. Mammalian hairs have certain advantages from
the viewpoint of taxonomy and systematics (Sarkar et
al. 2011). There are many works
worldwide on hair identification of different species of mammals (Mayer 1952;
Brunner & Coman 1974; Moore et al. 1974; Teerink 1991). In
India, studies on the hair of mammals were carried out on Artiodactyla
(Koppikar & Sabins
1976), Rodentia (Sarkar
2012), Carnivora (Chakraborty
& De 2010), and Primates (Sarkar et al.
2011). This study attempts to find out the
hair characteristics of B. taxicolor, which
was hitherto unknown.
A total
of five tufts of dorsal guard hair was collected from the five preserved
skins of B. taxicolor housed at the National
Zoological Collections of the Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, India, and
was processed by following the method of Teerink
(1991). Subsequently, the morphological
characteristics of hair such as total length, diameter, and profile (n=20) were
recorded using a dial calliper and hand lens.
The cuticular scale characteristics were
studied according to the standard methodology (Brunner & Coman 1974; Teerink 1991) and the
scale pattern, margin, margin distance, and count of the hair were studied by
moulding the hair in clear varnish overnight and observing the impressions of
its cuticular scales.
The medullary characteristics such as composition, structure, and
margins were recorded from the hair cleaned and mounted in a solution of xylene
and DPX (50:50), after Chakraborty et al.
(1996). The transverse section of hair
too was performed as per Chakraborty et al.
(1996). Different terminologies were
followed according to Brunner & Coman (1974) and Teerink (1991). The
photomicrographs were taken using a camera fitted with an optical light
microscope (Olympus BX41) and scanning electron microscope (ZEISS Evo18 -
special edition).
The
hair of B. taxicolor can be easily identified
by its morphologic and microscopic characteristics (Table 1). The dorsal guard hair of B. taxicolor studied is bicoloured, with alternated bands
of earth yellow and coffee colours. The
profile of the hair is undulated. The
total length of hair varied greatly from 13.6mm to 51.6mm (30.4±12.8mm);
similarly, the diameter of hair varied from 84.9µm to 258.8µm
(215.6±25.2µm). The cuticular
characteristics were recorded as follows: scale position - transversal, scale
patterns - irregular wave, the structure
of scale margins - rippled, and the distance between scale margins - near
(Images 1a,b). All the measurement
values of cuticular scales varied greatly and the
average values were recorded as follows: cuticular
scale count (per mm length of hair): 146.4±15.8µm, length of cuticular scale 98.8±12.1µm, and width of cuticular scale 11.1±1.1µm.
The medullary characteristics were recorded as follows: the composition
of medulla - unicellular irregular, the structure of medulla - uniserial ladder, and form of the medulla margins -
scalloped (Image 1c); the average width of the medulla was recorded as
65.6±3.9µm. The shape of the transverse
section was observed as circular (Image 1d).
A study
by Kamalakannan (2015) on a total of 17 species of
artiodactyls (11 bovids, four cervids,
one suid, and one mouse deer) was found that the
microscopic characteristics of hair of all the species were nearly the same,
except in B. taxicolor. The dorsal guard hair of B. taxicolor possesses completely unique microscopic
characteristics, especially that of the medulla (Image 1c) that differs from
other species of mammals. According to
the study, the unique structure of the medulla, uniserial
ladder, was found only in B. taxicolor and was
not reported earlier. The irregular wave
of scale patterns, the rippled scale margins of the cuticle, and the circular
shape of a transverse section of hair also determined the species identity of B.
taxicolor, as these characteristics are
infrequent in other species of mammals.
Methods
of hair identification need exact identification keys (Brunner & Coman 1974; Teerink 1991) as they
have some similarities between the species.
Hair identification keys of the family Bovidae
are much required in the field of forensic science and predator diet analysis
for species identification (Sahajibal et al. 2010; Dharaiya & Soni 2012). Budorcas taxicolor is a Vulnerable
species as per the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (2018) and is listed
under the Schedule-I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and
Appendix-II of CITES (Song et al. 2008).
It is trafficked for its meat, which is consumed locally, its skin, and
other derivatives (Menon & Kumar 1999). On the other hand, it is also the chief prey
of large carnivores. Therefore, the
identification keys along with the photomicrographs presented here can be used
in animal forensic science as well as in predator diet analysis as an
appropriate reference for species identification of B. taxicolor.
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Table 1. Morphologic and microscopic
characteristics of dorsal guard hair of Budorcas
taxicolor
|
Hair characteristics |
Result |
Hair characteristics |
Result |
|
Coat colour |
Brownish-grey |
Distance between cuticular
scale margins |
Near |
|
Colour of hair |
Bicoloured; base: earth yellow, tip: coffee |
Cuticular scale count/mm length of hair |
123–167 (146.4±15.8) |
|
Number of colour bands |
Two |
Length of cuticular
scale (µm) |
84.6–120 (98.8±12.1) |
|
Profile |
Undulated |
Width of cuticular
scale (µm) |
9.1–12.5 (11.1±1.1) |
|
Length (mm) |
13.6–51.6 (30.4±12.8) |
Composition of medulla |
Unicellular irregular |
|
Diameter (µm) |
84.9–258.8 (215.6±25.2) |
Structure of medulla |
Uniserial ladder |
|
Cuticular scale position |
Transversal |
Margins of medulla |
Scalloped |
|
Cuticular scale patterns |
Irregular wave |
Width of medulla (µm) |
56.3–70.3 |
|
Cuticular scale margins |
Rippled |
Transverse section |
Circular |
