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Malformations of the sacculus and the semicircular canals in spider morph pythons Project ID: 000430852 Public
14 Media · 13 Specimens · Managed by: J. Matthias Starck

Spider morph ball pythons are a frequently-bred designer morph with striking alterations of the skin color pattern. We created high-resolution µCT-image series through the otic region of the skulls, used 3D-reconstruction software for rendering anatomical models, and compared the anatomy of the semicircular ducts, sacculus and ampullae of wildtype Python regius (ball python) with spider morph snakes. All spider morph snakes showed the wobble condition (i.e., twisting movements of the head, impaired locomotion, difficulty striking or constricting prey items). We describe the inner ear structures in wildtype and spider morph snakes and report a deviant morphology of semicircular canals, ampullae and sacculus in the latter. We also report about associated differences in the desmal skull bones of spider morph snakes, which were characterized by wider semicircular canals, ampullae widened and difficult to discern in µCT, a deformed crus communis, and a small sacculus with a highly deviant X-ray morphology as compared to wildtype individuals. We observed considerable intra- and interindividual variability of these features. This deviant morphology in spider morph snakes could easily be associated with an impairment of sense of equilibrium and the observed neurological wobble condition. Limitations in sample size prevent statistical analyses, but the anatomical evidence is strong enough to support an association between the wobble condition and a malformation of the inner ear structures. A link between artificially selected alterations in pattern and specific color design with neural-crest associated developmental malformations of the statoacoustic organ as known from other vertebrates is discussed. Research related to this data was published in the PLoS ONE on August 15, 2022 (see link below)

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  ID Part Object Taxonomy Type Date Added Publication Status  
000432198 overview scan of entire head lmu:Python_70946_complete Python regius Volumetric Image Series 2022-03-24 Open Download  
000432170 Occipital part of head, left side lmu:Python_70946 Python regius Volumetric Image Series 2022-03-24 Open Download  
000432166 Occipital part of head, left side lmu:Python_MPI67894 Python regius Volumetric Image Series 2022-03-24 Open Download  
000432160 Occipital part of head, right side lmu:Python_67894 Python regius Volumetric Image Series 2022-03-24 Open Download  
000432117 Occipital part of head, left side lmu:Python_MPI67533 Python regius Volumetric Image Series 2022-03-23 Open Download  
000432112 Occipital part of head, right side lmu:Python_67533 Python regius Volumetric Image Series 2022-03-23 Open Download  
000432107 Occipital part of head, left side lmu:Python_MPI67532 Python regius Volumetric Image Series 2022-03-23 Open Download  
000432102 Occipital part of head, right side lmu:Python_67532 Python regius Volumetric Image Series 2022-03-23 Open Download  
000432097 Occipital part of head, right side lmu:Control_2 Python regius Volumetric Image Series 2022-03-23 Open Download  
000432092 Occipital part of head, right side lmu:Control_1 Python regius Volumetric Image Series 2022-03-23 Open Download  
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