Nikolaev I.G., Sheremetyev I.S., Sheremetyeva I.N.
Vestnik IrGSHA 2017; (82): 152-157
The regularities of the variability of the cranial parameters of the Manchurian hare in five samples of the south of the Far East of Russia (Primorsky territory and the Amur Region) were studied. The material for the study was the skulls of the Manchurian hare, caught on Primorsky Territory (Eastern Primorje n = 45, 2. Southern Sikhote-Alin n = 19, South-West Primorje n = 55, North-Western Primorje n = 27) and the south of Amur Region (n = 25). In addition, 24 skulls of the white hare were measured. The skulls of the animals examined are stored in the theriological collection of Federal Scientific Center of Biodiversity, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences. There are significant differences between the sample of the Manchurian hare of the Eastern Primorye, on the one hand, and the samples of the south-western Primorye on the other. For the evaluation, the Kruskel-Wallis coefficient was used for each parameter (the differences were recognized as significant at a significance level of p <0.01). As a result, it was found that sexual dimorphism in terms of craniometric characteristics in the species is not very pronounced. Of the 21 parameters, only one maximum width of the bone palate (H = 8.507, p = 0.004) revealed significant differences. It is shown that the sample of the Manchurian hare of Amur region is significantly different from all samples of Primorsky territory. As a result of a comparison of the variability of the craniometric parameters of the Manchurian hare and the white hare, it was revealed that some of the analyzed individuals of the Manchurian hare have craniometric parameters similar to the cranial parameters of the white hare, which is a consequence of hybridization between these species. Authentic differences in the sample of the North-Western Primorje were found. The individuals of this population are characterized by the presence of a large relatively narrow and with an elongated anterior part of the skull. Probably, the hybridization of the Manchurian hare with other species of hares whose areals are adjacent to the range of the Manchurian hare affects the variability of the sample of the North-Western Primorje.
