Abstract

GARCIA-GRAJALES, Jesús; BUENROSTRO SILVA, Alejandra  and  TELLEZ-RODRIGUEZ, Penélope R.. Variation of nucal scutellation pattern of American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus Cuvier 1807) in La Ventanilla, Oaxaca, Mexico. Acta Zool. Mex [online]. 2009, vol.25, n.2, pp.375-382. ISSN 2448-8445.

The post-occipital and nucal scutellation patterns of 111 crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus) from La Ventanilla, Oaxaca were analyzed. Thirty three different scutellation patterns were found. The most frequently observed pattern (31.5%) was 4 post-occipital scales present 2 external previous nucal scales absent, and 2 posterior nucal scales present (4-2EE-2). The pattern considered typical for this species was observed only in 6.31% of individuals. There were differences between the frequency distribution of common patterns when compared to other studies on C. acutus.

Keywords : Crocodylus acutus; scutellation pattern; morphology; scales.

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