Digital Dermatoglyphic Patterns of Anioma and Urhobo Students in Two Tertiary Institutions of Delta State, Southern Nigeria

Dermatoglyphics has a potential contribution to biological anthropology and population genetics. The purpose of this study was to assess the dermatoglyphic features of the Anioma and Urhobo peoples of Nigeria, which could be useful in future studies, especially in population relationships. The study consisted of 820 individuals, 340 Aniomas (176 males and 164 females) and 480 Urhobos (224 males and 256 females) aged between 13 and 48 years (mean=21.04 years). The systematic random sampling technique was employed. Voluntary informed consent was obtained from all prospective subjects prior to data collection. Digital ink prints of all the fingers of both hands in each subject were taken on a plain white duplicating paper and studied with the aid of a magnifying glass based on standard practice. The three primary ridge patterns of arches, loops and whorls were identified and recorded in a data sheet. The dominant finger print in the two ethnic groups was loop followed by whorl and then arch. No two finger prints were noted to be same. There was no significant association between gender and finger ridge patterns (p 0.05). In both ethnic groups, there was significant association between ethnicity and finger ridge pattern (p 0.05). The pattern of finger ridge distribution in the two populations is different. This study will be of relevance in population dynamics