Chromosomal Studies on Rabbits from Ilorin, Nigeria

Knowledge of the chromosome morphology of a species is valuable in detecting chromosomal abnormalities, taxonomy and evolution. Despite this, chromosomal studies on rabbits is scarce in Nigeria. This study presents a description of the chromosome morphology of Oryctolagus cuniculus from Ilorin, Nigeria. Two male and one female samples received intraperitoneally 0.01% colchicine (1ml/100g body weight). The chromosomes were investigated by examining the metaphase chromosome spreads obtained from the bone marrow of the femur and humerus. 60 metaphase spreads were examined and the diploid number of chromosomes obtained ranged from 42-44 with percentage occurrence of 67.5% for 2n = 44. The karyotypic formula was found to be 2n = 24m + 2sm + 18t. Chromosomal aberrations were not observed during scoring. These results contribute to the karyotypic data on O. cuniculus.