Cranial volume and palate length of cats, <i>Felis</i> spp., under domestication, hybridization and in wild populations.

ABSTRACT: Reduced brain size, compared with wild individuals, is argued to be a key characteristic of domesticated mammal species, and often cited as a key component of a putative 'domestication syndrome'. However, brain size comparisons are often based on old, inaccessible literature and in some cases drew comparisons between domestic animals and wild species that are no longer thought to represent the true progenitor species of the domestic species in question. Here we replicate studies on cranial volumes in domestic cats that were published in the 1960s and 1970s, comparing wildcats, domestic cats and their hybrids. Our data indicate that domestic cats indeed, have smaller cranial volumes (implying smaller brains) relative to both European wildcats (Felis silvestris) and the wild ancestors

SUBMITTER: Lesch R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8790375 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature