Masticatory muscle architecture in the gundi Ctenodactylus vali (Mammalia, Rodentia)

Gundis, family Ctenodactylidae, display a skull with large auditory bullae and are adapted for life in open areas. Here, the first descriptive comparison of the skull, mandible and jaw muscles of the North African gundi Ctenodactylus vali is presented. The gross anatomy of specimens captured in Algeria and internal architecture of the jaw musculature have been studied using dissections. The following muscles are described: temporal, masseter, pterygoids, digastric, mylohyoid, geniohyoid and transverse mandibular. The muscles of the zygomasseteric complex show a strong development with a hystricomorphous type of the skull. The temporal muscle is divided into three parts. The digastric muscles are of the hystricomorphine type. The description of the masticatory apparatus of C. vali offers a rare opportunity to assess the morphological variation of the masticatory apparatus among Ctenohystrica.