title: Efficacy of sex determination in the greater cane rat, Thryonomys swinderianus, Temminck.
abstract: The efficacy of the two most common techniques used for determining the sex of the greater cane rat, Thryonomys swinderianus, Temminck, was tested using 10 young and 8 adult animals with two technicians at the Animal Research Institute's Grasscutter Domestication Centre, Pokoase, Ghana. The techniques compared were the use of the head shape and/or head size and the use of the ano-genital distance. The use of the ano-genital distance for sex determination was validated in a colony of greater cane rats at various stages of development, i.e. from the day of birth to three or more years of age. The ano-genital distance was then used as the standard against which the use of the head shape and/or head size technique was tested. The results indicated that the use of the ano-genital distance for sex determination in the greater cane rat was error-free, even with little experience on the part of the practitioner. The ano-genital distance was more than twice as long in the males than in the females at all ages (p < 0.001). However, the use of the head shape and/or head size for sex determination was found to be associated with some degree of error in both sexes. The use of the ano-genital distance can therefore be recommended as an efficacious technique for sex determination in the greater cane rat.
authors.affiliation: Animal Research Institute, CSIR, PO Box AH 20, Achimota, Ghana. ari@africaonline.com.gh
authors.forename: E K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Adu
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Wallace
authors.forename: T O
authors.initials: TO
authors.lastname: Ocloo
mesh_terms: D001003:Anal Canal / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005835:Genitalia / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006257:Head / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D008297:Male; D012377:Rodentia / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012732:Sex Determination Analysis / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*