A MORPHOLOGICAL OBSERVATION OF THE TONGUE OF AN ADULT QUWA LOCAL DOMESTIC DUCK (Anas platyrhynchos domestica)

Abstract

A Biometric study was conducted on the tongue of twenty-five (25) adult domestic duck of both sex collected from the Sokoto metropolitan poultry and fish modern market, over a period of seven days. A pair of scissors, a scalpel and a blade was used to incise, excise, separate or debride various parts of the oral cavity to expose the organ for morphological observations. Results showed that the tongue is characterized by an elongated triangular format. At a point, approximately 2/3 the length of the lingual corpus there is a distinct depression, separating the caudal one-third of the lingual corpus from its rostral two-third. On the dorsal surface of the apex and body of the tongue, a median groove was present. A unique feature observed on the tongue in domestic Duck is the presence of many fine overlapping needle- shaped processes at both lateral sides of the caudal lingual-apex. A single row of large conical papillae is observed symmetrically in the marginal region between the body and root of the tongue. Biometrically the mean dimensions were discussed clearly. Based on the findings, there is need to conduct a research in detail to study the histological features and differentiation at specific ages of ducks, in order to relate this features with their special adaptive mode of feeding.