{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,12]],"date-time":"2026-10-12T09:49:17Z","timestamp":1791798557010,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":23,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,15]],"date-time":"2026-02-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1771113600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,15]],"date-time":"2026-02-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1771113600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Veterinary Medicine &amp; Sci"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,3]]},"abstract":"ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n \n \n \n Athene noctua<\/jats:italic>\n , commonly known as the little owl, thrives across the warmer climates of Europe, Asia and North Africa. One of the anatomical features of birds is the presence of a bony scleral ring in the eye. In avians, this configuration comprises ossicles that are affixed together in diminutive plates and are not articulated to other components of the skeleton. The morphology, number, development and location of the scleral ring vary among different vertebrate groups. The objective of this research is to furnish a comprehensive elucidation of the morphology of the scleral ring in the\n A. noctua<\/jats:italic>\n predicated on CT scan results and anatomical examination. The overall shape of the scleral ring, the number and shape of the ossicles and their positioning and extensions are notable features that can be used for classification purposes. The study population comprised 10 adult owls (five male and five female). Micro\u2010CT scan, CT scan, ultrasound, radiography and morphometric analysis were used for these owls. The results indicated that the scleral ring in the owls consisted of 15 ossicles, arranged in quadrilateral and rectangular shapes. In one sample, the right eye ring of the owl contained 16 ossicles, which was considered an exceptional feature. The ring consisted of two parts: an anterior tubular section and a posterior conical section. Morphometric analysis showed significant differences between male and female owls in various measurements.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Summary<\/jats:title>\n \n \n \n \n Ossicle Composition<\/jats:italic>\n : The scleral ring in\n Athene noctua<\/jats:italic>\n predominantly consists of 15 quadrilateral ossicles, with a rare anatomical variation of 16 ossicles observed unilaterally in one specimen.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:list-item>\n \n \n Structural Morphology<\/jats:italic>\n : The ring displays a distinct bipartite architecture, featuring an anterior tubular segment with a near\u2010circular cross\u2010section and a posterior funnel\u2010shaped segment with oval cross\u2010section.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:list-item>\n \n \n Sexual Dimorphism<\/jats:italic>\n : Morphometric analysis revealed statistically significant (\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u00a0<\u00a00.05) larger ocular dimensions in female specimens compared to males most measured parameters.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:list-item>\n \n \n Absence of Sesamoid Bone<\/jats:italic>\n : Unlike other strigiform species, no sesamoid ossification or tubercular structures were observed adjacent to the scleral ring.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:list-item>\n \n \n Taxonomic and Clinical Relevance<\/jats:italic>\n : These findings provide (1) diagnostic markers for ocular trauma assessment and (2) potential phylogenetic discriminators within Strigiformes.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:list-item>\n <\/jats:list>\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1002\/vms3.70845","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,15]],"date-time":"2026-02-15T17:31:22Z","timestamp":1771176682000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Anatomical Study and CT Scan of the Scleral Ring in the Little Owl (\n Athene noctua<\/i>\n )"],"prefix":"10.1002","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4343-4453","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Omid","family":"Zehtabvar","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Anatomy Sector, Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine University of Tehran Tehran Iran"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9087-6919","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Majid","family":"Masoudifard","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery and Radiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine University of Tehran Tehran Iran"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hesameddin","family":"Akbarein","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Food Hygiene and Quality Control, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine University of Tehran Tehran Iran"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Arman","family":"Shahbazi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Veterinary Medicine University of Tehran Tehran Iran"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Setayesh","family":"Karimi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Veterinary Medicine University of Tehran Tehran Iran"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sara","family":"Binesh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Veterinary Medicine University of Tehran Tehran Iran"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Elnaz","family":"Khalilzadeh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch Tehran Iran"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_12_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1159\/000046499"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.visres.2008.08.001"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_4_1","volume-title":"Exotic Animal Formulary (E\u2010Book)","author":"Carpenter J. W.","year":"2017"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_5_1","first-page":"1","article-title":"Why Are Bones in Vertebrate Eyes? Morphology, Development and Function of Scleral Ossicles in Vertebrate Eyes\u2014A Comparative Study","volume":"3","author":"Fischer O.","year":"2019","journal-title":"Journal of Anatomy & Physiology Studies"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.zool.2005.10.001"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/ar.20639"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/dvdy.20788"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_9_1","volume-title":"British Birds: Their Folklore, Names and Literature","author":"Greenoak F.","year":"1997"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_10_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1740\u20108261.2006.00168.x"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_11_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/jmor.21354"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_12_1","volume-title":"Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names","author":"Jobling J. A.","year":"2010"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_13_1","volume-title":"Birds, Their Structure and Function","author":"King A. S.","year":"1984"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_14_1","volume-title":"Avian Anatomy: Textbook and Colour Atlas","author":"K\u00f6nig H. E.","year":"2016"},{"issue":"3","key":"e_1_2_12_15_1","first-page":"31","article-title":"Anatomy of the Scleral Ossicles in Brazilian Birds","volume":"26","author":"Lima F. C.","year":"2017","journal-title":"Journal of Morphological Sciences"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_16_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1740-8261.1988.tb01501.x"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_17_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1155\/vmi\/4993179"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_18_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1740\u20108261.1994.tb02055.x"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_19_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1501\/Vetfak_0000002473"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_20_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/auk\/105.1.29"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_21_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S1096\u20102867(99)80008\u20105"},{"issue":"1","key":"e_1_2_12_22_1","first-page":"23","article-title":"Diet and Food\u2010Niche Overlap of the Little Owl (Athene noctua) and Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) in Shir\u2010Ahmad Wildlife Refuge Sabzevar","volume":"14","author":"Varasteh M. H.","year":"2018","journal-title":"Iranian Journal of Animal Biosystematics"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_23_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/vms3.823"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_24_1","first-page":"348","article-title":"Development and Mineralization of Embryonic Avian Scleral Ossicles","volume":"18","author":"Zhang G.","year":"2012","journal-title":"Molecular Vision"}],"container-title":["Veterinary Medicine and Science"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1002\/vms3.70845","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1002\/vms3.70845","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1002\/vms3.70845","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,12]],"date-time":"2026-10-12T09:25:41Z","timestamp":1791797141000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1002\/vms3.70845"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,15]]},"references-count":23,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,3]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1002\/vms3.70845"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/vms3.70845","archive":["Portico"],"relation":{"has-review":[{"id-type":"doi","id":"10.1002\/VMS3.70845\/v1\/decision1","asserted-by":"object"},{"id-type":"doi","id":"10.1002\/VMS3.70845\/v1\/review1","asserted-by":"object"}]},"ISSN":["2053-1095","2053-1095"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2053-1095","type":"print"},{"value":"2053-1095","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,15]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2025-08-15","order":0,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-01-29","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-02-15","order":3,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}],"article-number":"e70845"}}