A test for paedomorphism in domestic pig cranial morphology

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 (...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biology letters (2005) 2017-08, Vol.13 (8), p.20170321-20170321
Main Authors: Evin, Allowen, Owen, Joseph, Larson, Greger, Debiais-Thibaud, Mélanie, Cucchi, Thomas, Vidarsdottir, Una Strand, Dobney, Keith
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Animals
Animals, Domestic
Biodiversity
Domestic animals
Domestication
Evolutionary Developmental Biology
Geometric Morphometrics
Heterochrony
Humans
Innovations
Life Sciences
Mathematical morphology
Morphology
Ontogeny
Paedomorphism
Phenotype
Pigs
Populations and Evolution
Skull
Suidae
Sus scrofa
Swine
Three dimensional analysis
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Summary: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.
ISSN:1744-9561
1744-957X
DOI:10.1098/rsbl.2017.0321