SOME MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERS OF SEXUAL DIMORPHISM ON THE FOOT IN THECHICK

Thirty-one male and thirty-one female hatched chicks were examined for possible sexual differences in the foot morphology. In males, the foo t (i.e. tarsometatarsus and digits) was significantly (P<0.001) heavie r by 15-16 % than in females, their tarsometatarsus (TMT) was by 4-6 % wider (P<0.001), and their metatarsal spur (MTS) was by 6 % larger (P <0.05) than in females. Further, males had a higher number (by 12 %) o f scales(P<0.05) on the pulvinus digitalis distalis of the third digit (PDD III).