Sexual Shape Variation and Allometric Effects in Guinea Pig (<i>Cavia porcellus</i>) Skulls.

ABSTRACT: The skull provides essential diagnostic features for species identification and sex determination. Cranial sexual dimorphism in guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) is particularly important to understand, as these animals are frequently used in experimental research and veterinary practice, yet detailed morphometric evaluations remain limited. This study aimed to assess cranial size and shape variation between sexes using three-dimensional geometric morphometric (GM) methods. Computed tomography scans of 30 clinically healthy guinea pigs were used to reconstruct three-dimensional skull models. Twenty-one anatomical landmarks were digitized, and the dataset was subjected to generalized Procrustes analysis, followed by principal component analysis, Procrustes ANOVA, and regression-based all

SUBMITTER: Yalin EE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12691434 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature