The pace of morphological change: historical transformation of skull shape in St Bernard dogs.

ABSTRACT: Owing to the great morphological diversity of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris), the study of historical shape change in dog skulls provides an excellent opportunity for investigating the dynamics of morphological evolution. Breed standards make known which features were selected by breeders. Here we use the methods of geometric morphometrics to study change of skull shape in a series of purebred St Bernard dogs spanning nearly 120 years. A regression of shape on time was highly significant and revealed a consistent trend of shape change that corresponded to the features deemed desirable by the breed standard. Historical shape change in St Bernards involves a broadening of the skull and a tilting of the palate and upper jaw relative to the rest of the skull. This trend appears to be linear

SUBMITTER: Drake AG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2562403 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature