Maral nasolabial plane as a trait in selection and breeding

The aim of the work is to study the relationship between the types of dermatoglyph of the nasolabial plane in stag deer with antler productivity. Tasks: to study the types of patterns of the nasolabial plane in marals of different age categories; calculate the presence of certain types of patterns of the nasolabial plane of deer in the herd; to study the antler productivity of marals with identified patterns of the outer part of the olfactory organ. The objects were the patterns of the dermatoglyph of the nasolabial plane and its color, indicators of the antler productivity of stag deer. The experimental part was carried out on marals (n=300) of the Shebalinsky type of the Altai-Sayan breed in the PZ (stud farm) of LLC Maral-Tolusoma (Republic of Altai) at the age of 2 to 6 years. The material was obtained during planned veterinary treatments in 2020. A visual assessment of the skin structure of folds, elevations, depressions was carried out on living objects and photographs of their nasolabial plane. Antler productivity was determined by taking linear parameters from the trunk and processes of the antler and weighing on the scales. It was revealed that the outer surface of the nasolabial plane of deer is uneven, bumpy, it has many comb-shaped protrusions and funnel-shaped depressions with tactile hairs, forming various patterns. Two types of dermatoglyphs were established on the surface of hairless nasolabial skin: Raspberry and Stone paving. Each type is characterized by a different number of rollers (from 137 to 317 pieces), which differ in size. In addition to skin rollers, on the surface of the nasolabial plane there are crater-shaped depressions, or funnel-shaped depressions, from which tufts of hair grow. The average number of ridges on the nasolabial plane of marals is from 205.6 to 260.3 pcs., the number of crater-shaped depressions is from 22.4 to 26.5 pcs. respectively. Of the 300 examined stags, the frequency of occurrence of marals with the dermatoglyph Malina was 60.66 %, the remaining number falls on individuals with the dermatoglyph Stone paving.