A test for paedomorphism in domestic pig cranial morphology

Evin, Allowen, Owen, Joseph, Larson, Greger, Debiais-Thibaud, Melanie, Cucchi, Thomas, Vidarsdottir, Una Strand and Dobney, Keith ORCID: 0000-0001-9036-4681 (2017) A test for paedomorphism in domestic pig cranial morphology. BIOLOGY LETTERS, 13 (8). 20170321-.

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Abstract

Domestic animals are often described as paedomorphic, meaning that they retain juvenile characteristics into adulthood. Through a three-dimensional landmark-based geometric morphometric analysis of cranial morphology at three growth stages, we demonstrate that wild boar (n = 138) and domestic pigs (n = 106) (Sus scrofa) follow distinct ontogenetic trajectories. With the exception of the size ratio between facial and neurocranial regions, paedomorphism does not appear to be the primary pattern describing the observed differences between wild and domestic pig cranial morphologies. The cranial phenotype of domestic pigs instead involves developmental innovation during domestication. This result questions the long-standing assumption that domestic animal phenotypes are paedomorphic forms of their wild counterparts

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	domestication, heterochrony, paedomorphism, ontogeny, Sus scrofa, geometric morphometrics
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	06 Oct 2017 10:37
Last Modified:	19 Jan 2023 06:53
DOI:	10.1098/rsbl.2017.0321
Related URLs:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3009817