Skull Typology and Morphometrics of the Nigerian Local Dog ( Canis lupus familiaris  )

Summary: Understanding skull anatomy and morphometry is crucial to the diagnosis and treatment of some osteology disorders. This study investigated the morphometry and skull typology of the skull of the Nigerian local dog as a skull prototype for the dolichocephalic breed of dogs. A total of sixteen adult dogs (7 males, 9 females), of about 2 years were used. A total of 20 parameters were measured on each skull, and two indices (cephalic and orbital) calculated. The males had higher values for nine parameters (two of which were calculated indices), including the maximum width of the skull, length of the mandibular symphysis, height of the tympanic bulla and height of the external auditory opening, although no statistically significant difference was observed (p > 0.05). Statistically significant difference was observed in only one parameter, the length of the parietal bone (p = 0.0505), with the female value (3.775 ± 0.388 cm) being higher than the male (3.4 ± 0.179 cm). Cephalic and orbital indices (52.69 ± 4.677 % and 80.87 ± 7.218 % respectively) were higher in males (54.13 ± 1.616 % and 81.57 ± 4.295 % respectively) than in females (51.24 ± 6.434 % and 80.35 ± 9.102 % respectively), although no statistically significant difference was observed (p = 0.6905 and 0.9483 respectively). Results obtained from this study will provide baseline data on dolichocephalic skull measurements and also find application in archaeology, veterinary forensic medicine and applied anatomy.