Osteometric study of the main limb bones and of the thoracic limb girdle of the Common Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus L., 1758)

Abstract

Avian osteometric repositories have been traditionally elusive research tools, particularly in zooarchaeology. Here we offer an osteometrical baseline for the main bones of the limbs and thoracic girdle of the Common Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus L. 1758). The database consists of a sample of 54 individuals, that includes 26 males and 28 females, aged from 12 to 24 months. In addition to the basic uni- and bivariate statistical data, multivariate analyses (PCA) were used to treat the 72 linear measurements chosen from among the 81 starting measurements also to highlight sexual dimorphism. The 22 most discriminating measurements, or the 18 most relevant measurements for zooarchaeology, yield information as reliable as the 72 initial measurements, providing a far simpler methodology for zooarchaeological purposes. This archéolostudy evidences the very clear sexual dimorphism existing in the analyzed elements of the Common Pheasant, providing statistically-significant threshold values between males and females for each of the variables.