Agricultural Science Digest

  • Chief EditorArvind kumar

  • Print ISSN 0253-150X

  • Online ISSN 0976-0547

  • NAAS Rating 5.52

  • SJR 0.156

Frequency :
Bi-monthly (February, April, June, August, October and December)
Indexing Services :
BIOSIS Preview, Biological Abstracts, Elsevier (Scopus and Embase), AGRICOLA, Google Scholar, CrossRef, CAB Abstracting Journals, Chemical Abstracts, Indian Science Abstracts, EBSCO Indexing Services, Index Copernicus
Submit

Research Article

Agricultural Science Digest, volume 40 issue 2 (june 2020) : 218-220

Preliminary Anatomical Assessment of the Eye of the African Giant Rat (Cricetomys gambianus)

I.K. Peter-Ajuzie, I.C. Nwaogu, A.C. Ajaebili
1Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Cite article:- Peter-Ajuzie I.K., Nwaogu I.C., Ajaebili A.C. (2020). Preliminary Anatomical Assessment of the Eye of the African Giant Rat (Cricetomys gambianus). Agricultural Science Digest. 40(2): 218-220. doi: 10.18805/ag.D-183.

ABSTRACT

Eleven African giant rats were caught, bilaterally enucleated and the globes were routinely processed for light microscopy. Eye weight, vertical and horizontal corneal diameters, as well as vertical, horizontal and axial eye diameters were obtained from each globe. Observed external macroscopic ocular features were typical of mammalian eyes comprising cornea, sclera and attached extraocular muscles. The eye dimensions were however generally smaller than those of humans. The large mean corneal diameter to mean eye diameter ratio of 0.86 as well as the scanty retinal ganglion cells observed are associated with morphological adaptations for nocturnal vision. Pigments observed in the retinal epithelium suggests absence of tapetum lucidum, indicating a sub-optimal nocturnal visual capability. This study has provided scientific documentation of some ocular morphological characteristics of the giant rat and has shown that the eye of this species will be anatomically unsuitable for xenotransplantation in humans.

REFERENCES

  1. Agrawal, R. N., He, S., Spee, C., Cui, J. Z., Ryan, S. J. and Hinton, D. R. (2007). In vivo models of proliferative vitreoretinopathy. Nature Protocols. 2(1): 67–77. https://doi.org/10.1038/nprot.2007.4.
  2. Akinloye, A. K. and Oke, B. O. (2012). Sex hormonal pattern of the female African giant rat at different stages of the oestrous cycle. Nigerian Veterinary Journal. 33(3): 586–591.
  3. Aslan, L., Adizel, Ö. and Sancak, T. (2018). Treatment and rehabilitation of wild birds and mammals. Indian Journal of Animal Research. 52(4): 623–627. https://doi.org/10. 18805/ijar.B-877.
  4. Augusteyn, R. C., Nankivil, D., Mohamed, A., Maceo, B., Pierre, F. and Parel, J. (2012). Human ocular biometry. Experimental Eye Research. 102: 70–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exer. 2012.06.009.
  5. Cooper, R. G. (2008). Care, husbandry and diseases of the African giant rat (Cricetomys gambianus). Journal of the South African Veterinary Association. 79(2): 62–66.
  6. Hall, M. I. (2008). Comparative analysis of the size and shape of the lizard eye. Zoology. 111: 62–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.zool.2007.04.003.
  7. Hall, M. I., Kamilar, J. M. and Kirk, E. C. (2012). Eye shape and the nocturnal bottleneck of mammals. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 279: 4962–4968. https://doi.org/10. 1098/rspb.2012.2258.
  8. Igbokwe, C. O., Agina, O. A., Nwabuisi, C. and Onoja, R. I. (2017). Haematological and serum biochemistry profile of the juvenile wild African giant rat (Cricetomys gambianus, Waterhouse – 1840 ) in Nsukka, South-Eastern Nigeria – a preliminary investigation. Journal of Applied Animal Research. 45(1): 190–194. https://doi.org/10.1080/09712119.2016.1141772.
  9. Igbokwe, C. O., Chebe, P. N. and Umar, M. B. (2015). Comparative histology and histochemistry of the major salivary glands in the giant pouched-rats (Cricetomys gambianus) and greater cane rats (Thryonomys swinderianus). Indian Journal of Animal Research. 49(4): 451–460. https://    doi.org/10.5958/0976-0555.2015.00123.5.
  10. Kirk, E. C. (2004). Comparative Morphology of the Eye in Primates. The Anatomical Record. 281A:1095–1103. https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.a.20115.
  11. Mgode, G. F., Weetjens, B. J., Cox, C., Jubitana, M., Machang, R. S., Lazar, D., … Kaufmann, S. H. E. (2012). Ability of Cricetomys rats to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis and discriminate it from other microorganisms. Tuberculosis. 92: 182–186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tube.2011.11.008.
  12. Ollivier, F. J., Samuelson, D. A., Brooks, D. E., Lewis, P. A., Kallberg, M. E. and Komáromy, A. M. (2004). Comparative morphology of the tapetum lucidum (among selected species). Veterinary Ophthalmology. 7(1): 11–22.
  13. Olude, M. A., Mustapha, O. A., Ogunbunmi, T. K. and Olopade, J. O. (2013). The vertebral column, ribs and sternum of the African Giant Rat (Cricetomys gambianus Waterhouse). The Scientific World Journal. 2013. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/973537.
  14. Peter-Ajuzie, I. K., Nwaogu, I. C. and Igwebuike, U. M. (2019). Anatomical Assessment of the Eye of the African Grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus). Journal of Applied Life Sciences International. 20(2): 1–8. https://doi.org/10.9734/JALSI/2019/v20i230077.
  15. Saikia, H. and Saud, R. K. (2017). An analysis of the livestock rearing pattern of farm-households and its future potentials – A case study in Golaghat district of Assam. Agricultural Science Digest. 37(4): 275–279. https://doi.org/10.18805/ag.D-4656.
Reviewed By

Download Article
In this Article
    Contact us
    Follow us

    Editorial Board

    View all (0)