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How Did Domestication Change the Hair Morphology in Sheep and Goats?

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Human Evolution

Abstract

We analysed macro-and microscopic features of dorsal guard hairs in 21 specimens of wild and domestic sheep and goats. We integrated and extended the available data on hair morphology of wild species and provide a first comparative analysis of hair structure of domestic forms. Domestic sheep and goats, probably due to a convergence process under artificial selection, show similar medullary features to each other and different medullary structures from their relative wild relatives. Different breeds show a diverse alteration of the medullary structure probably correlated to the duration of the domestication process. Domestic sheep have a cuticular structure different from the relative wild ancestor, while domestic goats do not show clear differences in the cuticle from the related wild species. The strong artificial selection for wool production may have transformed the hair structure of the sheep, but not that of the goat. We described the effects of age on the microscopic structure of hair, which have not yet been investigated. The medullary structure and the cuticular pattern in domestic forms do not change with age, as seen in wild species, because juveniles characters are retained in adults due to domestication.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank curators of the museum collections, colleagues and friends who kindly supplied hair samples for this study: P. Agnelli (Natural History Museum, Zoological Section, Florence University); P. Montanaro (Italian Wildlife Institute, Bologna); P. Di Pirro, G. Lippa, S. Monti and L. Zorn. Special thanks are extended to all the staff of Servizio Scientifico of the Abruzzo Lazio and Molise National Park with particular reference to L. Gentile, R. Latini and C. Sulli for technical and logistical assistance. M. Masseti (Dept. Animal Biology and Genetics, University of Florence) gave critical and helpful suggestions to the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto Nazionale per la Fauna Selvatica, Via Ca’ Fornacetta 9, I-40064, Ozzano dell’Emilia (BO), Italy

    Anna Maria De Marinis

  2. Servizio Scientifico, Abruzzo Lazio and Molise National Park, Viale Santa Lucia, I-67032, Pescasseroli (AQ), Italy

    Alessandro Asprea

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  1. Anna Maria De Marinis
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  2. Alessandro Asprea
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Correspondence to Anna Maria De Marinis.

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De Marinis, A.M., Asprea, A. How Did Domestication Change the Hair Morphology in Sheep and Goats?. Human Evolution 21, 139–149 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11598-006-9010-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11598-006-9010-0

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