Van der Merwe, N.J.Bezuidenhout, A.J. (Abraham Johannes), 1942-Seegers, Christine D.Verwoerd, Daniel Wynand2013-09-122013-09-1220131995Van der Merwe, NJ, Bezuidenhout, AJ & Seegers, CD 1995, 'The skull and mandible of the African elephant (Loxodonta africana)’. Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research, vol. 62, no. 4, pp. 245-260.0330-2465http://hdl.handle.net/2263/31698The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi. Adobe Acrobat XI Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.In the present study the bones of the skull, excluding the hyoid apparatus, are described. All the bones are aerated by sinuses. In the occipital bone the squamous part is aerated from the sinus of the parietal bone, the lateral part is aerated from the tympanic bulla and the basal part from the sinus of the basisphenoid bone. Condylar foramens and hypoglossal canals are absent. A small interparietal bone is present at birth. At an early age it fuses with the surrounding cranial bones. The squamous part of the temporal bone lies sagittally in young animals, but moves progressively to a transverse plane as the animals age. A foramen lacerum is represented by jugular and oval foramens and the carotid canal. The body of the basisphenoid bone is excavated by the massive maxillary tuberosity. The latter extends to the oval foramen and contains the developing molar teeth. The ethmoturbinate, nasal and lacrimal bones are exceptionally small. In old bulls the palatine processes of the incisive bones and their sinuses are gradually displaced by the palatine processes of the maxillae. The incisive part of the mandible does not carry any teeth and both lateral and medial mental foramina are present.en© ARC-Onderstepoort (original). © University of Pretoria. Dept of Library Services (digital).Veterinary medicineAfrican elephantLoxodonta africanaMandibleSkullVeterinary medicine -- South AfricaArticle