MACROSCOPIC OBSERVATIONS OF THE FACIAL MUSCLES IN THE BAIKAL SEAL (PHOCA SIBIRICA) |
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| Authors: | Hideki Endo Hiroyuki Sasaki Yoshihiro Hayashi Evageny A Petrov Masao Amano Nobuyuki Miyazaki |
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| Institution: | Department of Zoology, National Science Museum, 3-23-1 Hyakunin-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169, Japan E-mail:;Research Institute of North Pacific Fisheries, Hokkaido University, Hakodate, Hokkaido 041, Japan;Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Faculty of Agriculture, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113, Japan;Limnological Institute of the Siberian Division of the Academy of Sciences of Russia, Irkutsk, Russia;Otsuchi Marine Research Center, Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, Otsuchi, Iwate 028-11, Japan |
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| Abstract: | This study was performed to determine if, as expected, the enlarged eye of the Baikal seal ( Phoca sibirica ) has an influence on the form and function of the skull and facial muscles. Macroscopic observation of these muscles demonstrated that the M. orbicularis oculi expands around the palpebral fissure and that some facial muscles attach and insert in the M. orbicularis oculi , possibly supporting M. orbicularis oculi function. We suggest that these muscles move the eye and palpebral area and constitute a morphological and synergistic facial muscle complex system. Further, the development of the M. rectus lateralis around the sclera of the eye indicates that this muscle is also involved in eye movement. |
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| Keywords: | Baikal seal Phoca sibirica eye facial muscles macroscopic observation |
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