Digital dermatoglyphic study in three west Algerian populations: Reguibates, Zenata, Oran

ABSTRACT

The study of Dermatoglyphics has a great importance in medical, judicial, criminal and anthropological research. Human dermatoglyphic traits present variations within and between populations. The purpose of this paper is to provide a descriptive analysis of digital dermatoglyphic traits in three Algerian populations and enrich the anthropogenetic database of this population. The current study was conducted on 315 healthy and consenting individuals, 228 (144 males and 84 females) from Oran, the second most important city in Algeria located in the northwest of the country, 46 Reguibates (20 males and 26 females), and 42 Zenata (16 males and 26 females). The results show that the most common descending order of pattern type frequencies for both hands in the three samples is Ulnar loop, Whorl, Arch, Radial loop. One exception is seen in the Reguibates sample that has an unusually high frequency of radial loop. The analysis of qualitative digital characters revealed bimanual differences in the three populations.

RÉSUMÉ

Du a leurs grande variation dans et entre les populations les dermatoglyphes ont une grande importance dans les recherches judiciaires médicales et anthropologiques. l'objectif de cet article est de fournir une analyse descriptive des dermatoglyphes digitales dans trois populations algériennes et d'enrichir la base de données anthropogénétiques de cette population. La présente étude a porté sur 315 sujets sains et consentants, 228 (144 hommes et 84 femmes) d'Oran se trouvant au nord-ouest du pays, elle est la deuxième ville la plus importante, 46 Reguibates (20 hommes et 26 femmes) et 42 Zenata (16 hommes et 26 femmes). les resultats montrent une prédominance des boucles ulnaires, suivie des tourbillons, des arcs et des boucles radiales,. Une exception est observée dans l'échantillon Reguibates qui a une fréquence elevée des boucles radiales.

KEYWORDS:

• Dermatoglyphic study
• Oranians
• Reguibates
• Zenata
• Algeria

MOTS CLES:

• Etude des dermatoglyphes
• Oran
• Reguibates
• Zenata
• Algerie

Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to all the individuals who donated their prints for the study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by Centre de Recherche en Anthropologie Sociale et Culturelle “CRASC” d'Oran.