The characteristic features of muzzle prints based on the pattern of ridges

Abstract

Muzzle prints were taken with the help of ink pad, roller, printing ink, metal pad on plain paper known as modified cyclostyle ink procedure on 539 animals from the cattle yard of National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, India and Karkendam Research Farm Institute of Animal Breeding and Husbandry - Christian - Albrechts, University of Kiel, Germany. On close examination of muzzle prints, a characteristic depressions and bulgings similar to ridges and furrows were seen. The bulged structures were coined as ridges which had a definite pattern in their structural features, like gyrations. These were described as pattern-ridges. In a particular pattern several ridges were seen arising like a branch from a common axis. Each ridge thus had a different place of origin on this common axis. The number of such pattern ridges of the muzzle prints have observed and classified into 5 major catergories or classes. Within a major class ridges had a further structural differentiation forming a pattern-ridges of minor class. The major class of pattern ridges comprised curved, bifurcated, straight, tented and undulated structures each having average number of -1.77, 0.16, 2.65, 0.33 and 0.81 respectively. Form these figures it was evident that bifurcated and tented pattern ridges were lesser in number than the others and thus had occasional presence in the muzzle prints. Certain ridges had altogether different structures not covered in any of the 5 major classes of pattern ridges. Such pattern ridges were classified as miscellaneous. These had comma, hook, knife and segmoid like structures.