Abstract
This study aims to assess the skull morphological features of shepherd dog breeds raised in Poland, with an emphasis on native breeds such as the Tatra Sheepdog and Polish Lowland Sheepdog, by utilizing a detailed dataset to analyze and compare the structural traits of their skulls. To achieve this, a total of 32 dog skulls were modeled in 3D, and geometric morphometric analysis was performed to reveal skull shape variations. Among the shepherd samples used, the Polish Lowland Sheepdog exhibited the smallest average skull size. The Tatra Shepherd Dog displayed a skull size similar to that of other sheepdog breeds, although it was larger than that of the Polish Lowland Sheepdog. The results indicate that the Tatra Shepherd Dog possesses a more robust and elongated skull structure compared to the Polish Lowland Sheepdog. Both of these Polish shepherd breeds share similar skull morphology with other shepherd breeds, with the notable exception of collies. Collie breeds exhibit a markedly dolichocephalic skull morphology that sets them apart from the other samples in this study. The analysis revealed that neither Procrustes distance nor shape variation from PC1 had a statistically significant effect on skull size. To enhance our understanding of Poland's shepherd dog diversity, future studies should focus on expanding the dataset to include additional native Polish breeds and exploring a broader range of morphological features beyond the skull.
Ethical Statement
This study does not present any ethical concerns.
Supporting Institution
This research received no grant from any funding agency/sector.
References
- 1. Ağaç DK, Onuk B, Gündemir O, et al (2024): Comparative cranial geometric morphometrics among Wistar albino, Sprague Dawley, and WAG/Rij rat strains. Animals, 14, 1274.
- 2. Batur B, Kiliçli İB, Yunus HA, et al (2025): Geometric morphometric analysis of plastinated brain sections using computer-based methods: Evaluating shrinkage and shape changes. Ann Anat, 257, 152351.
- 3. Boz İ, Altundağ Y, Szara T, et al (2023): Geometric morphometry in veterinary anatomy. Veterinaria, 72, 15-27.
- 4. Richtsmeier JT, Flaherty K (2013): Hand in glove: brain and skull in development and dysmorphogenesis. Acta Neuropathol, 125, 469-489.
- 5. Demiraslan Y, Demircioğlu İ, Güzel BC (2024): Geometric analysis of mandible using semilandmark in Hamdani and Awassi sheep. Ankara Univ Vet Fak Derg, 71, 19-25.
- 6. Drake AG (2011): Dispelling dog dogma: an investigation of heterochrony in dogs using 3D geometric morphometric analysis of skull shape. Evol Dev, 13, 204-213.
- 7. Eravci Yalin E, Gündemir O, Günay E, et al (2024): Carapace morphology variations in captive tortoises: insights from three-dimensional analysis. Animals, 14, 2664.
- 8. Gündemir O, Szara T (2025): Morphological patterns of the European bison (Bison bonasus) skull. Sci Rep, 15, 1418.
- 9. Gündemir O, Koungoulos L, Szara T, et al (2023): Cranial morphology of Balkan and West Asian livestock guardian dogs. J Anat, 243, 951-959.
- 10. Güzel BC, Manuta N, Ünal B, et al (2024): Size and shape of the neurocranium of laying chicken breeds. Poult Sci, 103, 104008.
- 11. Igado OO (2017): Skull typology and morphometrics of the Nigerian local dog (Canis lupus familiaris). Niger J Physiol Sci, 32, 153-8.
- 12. Jashari T, Kahvecioğlu O, Duro S, et al (2022): Morphometric analysis for the sex determination of the skull of the Deltari Ilir dog (Canis lupus familiaris) of Kosovo. Anat Histol Embryol, 51, 443-451.
- 13. Kania-Gierdziewicz J, Mroszczyk B (2017): Use and breeding of livestock guarding dogs in the Subcarpathian area. Wiad Zootech, 2, 129-138.
- 14. Klingenberg CP (2016): Size, shape, and form: concepts of allometry in geometric morphometrics. Dev Genes Evol, 226, 113-137.
- 15. Marugán‐Lobón J, Nebreda SM, Navalón G, et al (2022): Beyond the beak: Brain size and allometry in avian craniofacial evolution. J Anat, 240, 197-209.
- 16. Korkmazcan A, Ünal B, Bakıcı C, et al (2025): Exploring skull shape variation and allometry across different chicken breeds. Ankara Univ Vet Fak Derg, 72, 1-7.
- 17. Littles ME, Rao S, Bannon KM (2022): Analysis of the anatomic relationship of the infraorbital canal with the roots of the maxillary fourth premolar tooth in the three different skull types: Mesocephalic, brachycephalic, and dolichocephalic, using cone beam computed tomography. Front Vet Sci, 9, 978400.
- 18. Palci A, Lee MS (2019): Geometric morphometrics, homology and cladistics: review and recommendations. Cladistics, 35, 230-242.
- 19. Bionda A, Cortellari M, Bigi D, et al (2022). Selection signatures in Italian livestock guardian and herding shepherd dogs. Vet Sci, 10, 3.
- 20. Rohlf FJ (2002): Geometric morphometrics and phylogeny. Syst Assoc Spec Vol, 64, 175-193.
- 21. Rolfe S, Pieper S, Porto A, et al (2021): SlicerMorph: An open and extensible platform to retrieve, visualize and analyse 3D morphology. Methods Ecol Evol, 12, 1816-1825.
- 22. Saber ASM, Gummow B (2015): Skull morphometry of the lion (Panthera leo), dog (Canis lupus familiaris) and cat (Felis catus). J Vet Anat, 8, 13-30.
- 23. Szara T, Duro S, Gündemir O, et al (2022): Sex determination in Japanese Quails (Coturnix japonica) using geometric morphometrics of the skull. Animals, 12, 302.
- 24. Toledo González V, Ortega Ojeda F, Fonseca GM, et al (2020): A morphological and morphometric dental analysis as a forensic tool to identify the Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus). Animals, 10, 975.
- 25. Van Bommel L, Johnson CN (2012): Good dog! Using livestock guardian dogs to protect livestock from predators in Australia’s extensive grazing systems. Wildl Res, 39, 220-229.
Details
| Primary Language | English |
|---|---|
| Subjects | Veterinary Anatomy and Physiology |
| Journal Section | Research Article |
| Authors | |
| Early Pub Date | April 10, 2025 |
| Publication Date | |
| Submission Date | January 21, 2025 |
| Acceptance Date | March 20, 2025 |
| Published in Issue | Year 2025Accepted Papers |