Morphological and Morphometrical Aspects of the Auditory Ossicles in the European Badger (Meles Meles)

Abstract

Given the scarce morphological data regarding the middle ear anatomy of this species, the paper attempts to describe the morphological and morphometrical data of the auditory ossicles in the badger. The study was performed using the standard morphological investigations and provides a complete morphological description of the ossicular assembly (malleus, incus and stapes) with some comparative features and attempts to provide a complete set of standardized metrical data for each ossicle. A more-detailed attempt to compare some functional aspects in the light of combined metrical ratios is also implied.

Keywords

• middle ear
• ear ossicles
• badger
• morphometry
• malleus
• incus