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Morphology of Rhinencephalon and Hippocampal formation of the Bactrian Camel (Camelus bactrianus) with their adaptive features

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Abstract

Detailed description of the brain size, rhinencephalon and hippocampal formation of the Bactrian camel is presented in our study. The brain weight of the Bactrian camel is 626 g averagely, and the encephalization quotient (EQ) value 1.3, indicating a high level of intelligence. The rhinencephalon is mature and well developed, accordant with the good olfactory sense. The hippocampus is relatively large, concomitant with the good ability of spatial memory. These anatomical features agree with the corresponding adaptive behaviors of the Bactrian camel and provide a morphological evidence of the camel to adapt to the acrid and semi- acrid environment.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Dr. Wenling Ye and Lei Zhu for the collection of specimens, and Jinghong Ma, Xianyan Peng, Hongju Wang and Guoqiang Yuan for their assistance during the perfusion. Our study was funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China (39300097), and Open Foundation of Chinese Educational Department Key Laboratory of Arid and Grassland Agroecology.

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Correspondence to Jianlin Wang.

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Chen, J., Bai, Z., Gao, C. et al. Morphology of Rhinencephalon and Hippocampal formation of the Bactrian Camel (Camelus bactrianus) with their adaptive features. Vet Res Commun 33, 25–32 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11259-008-9068-4

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