https://doi.org/10.52973/rcfcv-e34355
Received: 26/11/2023 Accepted: 24/01/2024 Published: 15/04/2024
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Revista Científica, FCV-LUZ / Vol. XXXIV, rcfcv-e34355
ABSTRACT
With many local breeds in danger of extinction or genetic erosion,
the loss of genetic variety in farm animal genetic resources is an
increasingly critical concern. Conserving diverse sheep breeds is
crucial for long–term agricultural sustainability and ecosystem health.
The current research focused on the Cyprus fat–tailed sheep, which is
important for both meat and milk production, particularly to produce
Halloumi cheese. A study on a Cyprus sheep production farm was
carried out with the aim to characterize the morphological traits of
Cyprus fat–tailed sheep breed for its conservation. The study found
that in female Cyprus fat–tailed sheep, white, white–black, and brown
coat color patterns were the common ones recorded with proportions
of 75, 12.5, and 12.5%, respectively. Sixty seven percent of males were
white–black followed by white coat color in 33%. Male sheep are all
characterized by white eece, while females had a range of eece
colors with the majority in white (75%) followed by pale greyish brown
in 18.75% and fawn eece in 6.25%. On the other hand, male Cyprus
fat–tailed sheep had higher values (P<0.05) for wither height, heart
girth, chest width, hip height, foreleg length, compact index, area
index, and body weight than females. Morphometric traits, such as
head length, wither height, heart girth, chest depth, body length,
and hip height, were signicantly positively (P<0.01) correlated with
body weight. The study concludes that the characterization of the
Cyprus fat–tailed sheep breed’s physical and morphological traits is
essential and useful for its conservation.
Key words: Cyprus fat–tailed sheep; morphological body
measurements; indices; biodiversity; sustainable animal
production, native sheep breed
RESUMEN
Como muchas razas locales en peligro de extinción o erosión genética,
la pérdida de variedad genética en los animales de granja es una
preocupación cada vez más crítica. La conservación de diversas razas
de ovejas es crucial para la sostenibilidad agrícola a largo plazo y la
salud del ecosistema. La investigación se realizó en la oveja de Chipre
de cola gruesa, la cual juega un rol importante para la producción de
carne y leche, en particular para la producción de queso Halloumi.
El estudio se llevó a cabo en una granja de producción de ovejas con
el objetivo de caracterizar los rasgos morfo–biométricos de la raza
de ovejas de cola gorda de Chipre como parte en los planes para
su conservación. Los resultados obtenidos del estudio, indicaron
que los patrones de color de pelaje blanco, blanco–negro y marrón
fueron los más comunes registrados en proporciones del 75, 12,5 y
12,5 %, respectivamente. El 67 % de los machos resultaron ser de
color blanco–negro, seguido por los del color totalmente blanco
quienes representaron el restante 33 %. Todos los ovejos de esta raza
se caracterizaron por tener lana de color blanco, mientras que las
hembras tenían distintos colores de lana, la mayoría en color blanco
(75%), seguido de marrón grisáceo pálido en 18,75 % y lana de color
leonado en 6,25 %. Por otro lado, los corderos de cola gruesa de
Chipre tuvieron valores más altos (P<0,05) para la altura de la cruz,
el perímetro torácico, la anchura del pecho, la alzada a la grupa, la
longitud de las patas delanteras, el índice de compactacidad, el índice
de área y el peso vivo que las hembras. Se obtuvo una correlación
signicativa positiva (P<0,01) entre los rasgos morfométricos, como
la longitud de la cabeza, la altura de la cruz, el perímetro torácico, la
profundidad del pecho, el largo del cuerpo y la alzada a la grupa, con
el peso vivo del animal. El estudio concluye que la caracterización
de los rasgos físicos y morfológicos de la raza ovina de cola gorda
de Chipre son primordiales y resultan ser útiles en su conservación.
Palabras clave: Oveja de cola gorda de Chipre; medidas
morfométricas; índices; biodiversidad, producción
animal sostenible; raza ovina autóctona
Morphological characterization and the relationship between
morphometric indices of a local Cyprus fat–tailed Sheep breed in Cyprus
Caracterización morfológica y relación entre los índices zoométricos
en la raza local de ovejas de cola gruesa en Chipre
Dilek Arsoy
*
, Ibrahima Mahamane Abdourhamane
Near East University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Animal Science. Nicosia, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
*Corresponding author: dilek.arsoy@neu.edu.tr
FIGURE 1. Typical Cyprus fat–tailed sheep with white coat color (Photo courtesy:
Prof. Dr. Dilek Arsoy)
FIGURE 2. A historical ock of Cyprus fat–tailed sheep with a shepherd (Source:
anonym).
Morphometric indices of a local Cyprus fat-tailed Sheep / Arsoy and Abdourhamane ______________________________________________
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INTRODUCTION
Sustainable development encompasses environmental protection,
economic growth, and social equity across generations. Animal
genetic diversity, including sheep breeds, plays a crucial role in
climate adaptation and geographical considerations [1]. Local sheep
(Ovis aries) breeds are vital for adapting to local climates, sustainable
land management, preserving cultural heritage, supporting research
and genetic improvement, and building resilience to climate change
[2]. Preserving diverse sheep breeds is essential for the long–term
sustainability and rural livelihoods of agriculture and ecosystems [3].
The main breeds present in Cyprus are the local Cyprus fat–tailed,
Chios, and Awassi sheep breeds, and the wild Ovis Mouon population
[4]. The Cyprus fat–tailed sheep breed has historical signicance, and
its population should be strictly protected due to its importance in the
Country's sheep ock composition. However, the breed is facing the
risk of extinction [5, 6, 7], mainly due to uncontrolled crossbreeding.
Maintaining genetic diversity is crucial for viable breeding programs
in the future and the preservation of the Cyprus fat–tailed breed [8].
Besides, milk obtained from Cyprus fat–tailed sheep, Awassi, Sakız,
Hair goats, and Damascus goats was mainly used to produce the
traditional Halloumi cheese, which is one of the most economically
important dairy products of Cyprus today [9]. That’s why for Halloumi,
there had been an application for the registration of the names
‘Χαλλουµι’ (Halloumi)/‘Hellim’ as a Protected Designation of Origin
for cheese made predominantly from ewes' and/or goat milk under
Quality Regulation (EUA) No 1151/2012.
In this context, the protection of domestic breeds is even more
important. It is worthy to mention that the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) focus on the conservation of the genetic diversity of farm
and domestic animals. Both the DAD–IS system and the SDG indicator are
programs that monitor the global population of local breeds and classify
Cyprus fat–tailed sheep as being at a high risk of extinction, marked
at the red level [10]. At the moment, the estimated population of this
breed is alarmingly low, with numbers ranging from 300 to 500 heads.
Morphological characterization of indigenous breeds [9, 11, 12,
13, 14, 15, 16], including the Cyprus fat–tailed sheep, is essential for
establishing conservation programs for zoo–genetic resources.
Quantifying and expressing morpho–structural characteristics
through body measurements is important for accurate identication
and understanding of the breed. Morphometrics provides a powerful
set of tools for analyzing morphological variation, contributing to
comparative studies and developmental research.
This study aims to identify for the first time the physical and
morphological traits of the indigenous Cyprus fat–tailed sheep breed
to support its accurate identication and conservation.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Study area
Cyprus Fat Tailed Sheep were raised either in a semi–intensive (FIG.1)
or extensive rearing system (FIG. 2) in Southern and Northern Cyprus.
There are a few Cyprus fat–tailed sheep kept on some commercial
farms as a tradition, and we also found some farmers who raised this
breed as a hobby. Because of facing the threat of extinction, nding,
and keeping animals for the assessment was a dicult step. Therefore,
the number of animals used in this study was less.
All the sheep taken in the study were of the Cyprus Fat–tail sheep
breed. The research was approved by the Near East University, Animal
Ethics Committee (2019/04, 17.04.2019/73).
Cyprus has the typical Mediterranean climate with prolonged,
warm, and dry summers starting from mid–May to mid–October. The
winter, from December to February, is mild and wet. And completing
the seasons of the year with short autumn and spring periods. The
temperature reaches 34°C and even 40°C in the hottest months
(July and August) and ranges from 7° to 15°C in the coldest months.
TABLE I
Morphological body measurement
Traits Description
Body length (BL)
[cm]
Measured as the diagonal distance from the tip of the sternum
to the base of the tail
Chest girth (CG)
[cm]
Measured as the circumference of the body immediately behind
the shoulder blades in a vertical plane perpendicular to the
long axis of the body
Chest depth (CD)
[cm]
It was the distance from the backbone at the shoulder to the
brisket between the front legs
Rump height (RH)
[cm]
Height from the ground to the spina iliac
Rump length (RL)
[cm]
Distance from the anterior point to the posterior extremity of
the pin bone
Wither height (WH)
[cm]
Measured from the bottom of the front foot to the highest point
of the shoulder between the withers
Pelvic width (PW)
[cm]
Measured as the distance between pelvic bones across the
dorsum
Horn length (HL)
[cm]
Measured as the length of the horn on its exterior side from its
root at the poll of the tip
Tail length (TL)
[cm]
Measured as the distance from the base to the tip of the tail on
the outer side of the tail
Tail Width (TW)
[cm]
Measured at the thickest point
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Data collection
Finding animals of this breed proved to be a challenging task.
Fortunately, we were able to identify up to 24 animals of this breed
on the same farm in Northern Cyprus. Consequently, all 24 animals
were considered for morpho–biometric evaluation.
Of the 24 animals, 18 are females and 6 are males. They were
classied by age category as follows:
» 1–year–old: 5 animals (4 females, 1 male)
» 2–year–old: 7 animals (5 females, 2 males)
» 3–year–old: 5 animals (4 females, 1 male)
» 4–year–old: 7 animals (5 females, 2 males)
The animals had ear–tagged identication. There were 8 qualitative
traits (presence of horn, horn shape, presence of wattle, beard, head
shape, coat color, eece color and tail type) and 10 quantitative
morphological traits like body weight, ear length, head length, withers
height, heart girth, chest depth, chest width, body length, hip height,
and tail length and tail width (TABLE I) were recorded according to
procedures described by [17, 18]. In this study, there were a total of 24
Cyprus fat–tailed sheep, and all the measurements were performed
by the same group of persons in order to minimize errors during the
data collection phase of the study.
Morphological indices and body weight were calculated according
to the procedures described by Salako [11] as follows:
Body weight
body lengthheart girthheart girth
10838
##
=
Body index
Heart girth
Body length
100
#
=
Lengthindex
Wither heigth
Body length
=
Depthindex
Wither heigth
Chestdepth
=
ForeleglengthWitherheight Chestdepth
=-
Compactindex
Wither heigth
Body weight
100
#
=
Relative Cannon ThicknessIndex
Wither heigth
Cannon circumference
100
#
=
Area indexWitherheight Body length
#
=
Proportionalityindex
Body length
Wither height
100
#
=
Statistical analyses
Data obtained from the farm were analyzed using IBM SPSS
(Statistical Program for Social Sciences) version 20 for Windows
[19]. Qualitative physical traits were analyzed using the frequency
and descriptive statistical procedures of the package. A two–way
ANOVA test was used to analyze the morphological body measurement
and check possible interaction between age and gender considered
as xed factors. Pearson’s correlation coecient was calculated
between linear body measurements and body weight. The signicance
level was determined at P≤0.05.
The model used was: Y
k
= μ + A
i
+ B
j
+ AB
+ ε
k
,
∙ μ = the common mean,
∙ A
i
= the gender effect ( males, females),
∙ B
j
= the age effect ( j=1 year old, 2 years old,…, 4 years old),
∙
AB
ij
= the interaction effect between the i
th
gender and j
th
age group,
∙
ε
k
= effects of the uncontrolled effects on the experimental
units or random errors.
All effects in the model were considered fixed except the
experimental error, which is assumed to be NID
(,
)
0
e
2
v
.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In the present study, it was evaluated the morphometric and physical
traits of the local Cyprus fat–tailed sheep breed. According to the
knowledge, this is the rst study in Cyprus to measure and evaluate
the morphometric and physical traits in local Cyprus fat–tailed sheep.
Chiemela et al. [20] have reported that physical traits, structural
indices, and morphometric measurements are of great importance
to determine the type, function of the animal and to estimate animal
performance due to their relation to productivity parameters.
Qualitative traits in Cyprus fat–tailed sheep breed
The percentage of each qualitative trait of Cyprus fat–tailed sheep
are presented in TABLE II. In the studied population all males had a
horn with an arc shape, however, no female was found with a horn. All
Cyprus fat–tailed sheep of both sexes were characterized by wattles
and bears and had convex head shapes. The majority of female Cyprus
fat–tailed sheep (75%) had a white coat color pattern, followed by
white–black and brown coat colors at the same rate (12.5%). For
males, the study found a higher (67%) percentage for white–black
followed by white coat color in 33%. Male Cyprus fat–tailed sheep
FIGURE 3. Length of tail in Cyprus fat–tailed sheep. A– Sheep with white coat,
B– Sheep with white–black coat (Photo courtesy: Prof.Dr.Dilek Arsoy).
A B
Morphometric indices of a local Cyprus fat-tailed Sheep / Arsoy and Abdourhamane ______________________________________________
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are all characterized by white eece, while females had a range of
eece colors with the majority in white (75%) followed by pale greyish
brown in 18.75% and fawn eece in 6.25%.
Morphometric traits (Body measurements) of Cyprus fat–tailed
sheep breed
Morphological indices are the combined results of two or more
morphometric body measurements, expressed in percentage in order
to indicate type and function of the animal [20]. Indices obtained
from body measurements such as foreleg length, height slope and
length index are closely related to bone growth [11].
Mean and standard deviation of each morphometric trait of Cyprus
fat–tailed sheep breed are presented in TABLE III.
There was no interaction between gender and age factors on Cyprus
fat–tailed sheep breed morphometric traits. However, there was
gender impact for wither height, chest width and hip height. The
male Cyprus fat–tailed sheep breed had higher wither height, chest
width and hip height than female (P<0.05; TABLE III). On the other
hand, even though there were no signicant differences between
male and female for ear length, head length, chest depth, body length,
tail length (FIG. 3) and tail width, males tend to have higher values.
Age factor impacted all the evaluated morphometric traits except
ear length, tail length, and tail width. In general, Cyprus fat–tailed males
showed higher values than female sheep for these traits and these
morphometric traits increase as animal age increases. However, for
the tail width got decreased over the years. These ndings agree with
those reported by Yilmaz et al. [22] and Yilmaz et al. [27] who reported
higher values of these traits for males in Turkish fat–tailed sheep. In
this study, the tail length found in Cyprus fat–tailed sheep was much
longer than that reported by Deribe et al. [28] in Ethiopian fat–tailed
sheep breeds (Tumele, SSFT and Afar), and Zom sheep, a variety of
Turkish White Karaman (Akkaraman) reported by Koncagül et al. [14].
TABLE II
Frequency of qualitative traits status in Cyprus fat–tailed sheep
Qualitative traits Trait status
Percentage of the ock
Female Male
Horns
Present – 100
Absent 100 –
Horn shape
Arc – 100
Wattles
Present – –
Absent 100 100
Beard
Present – –
Absent 100 100
Head shape
Convex 100 100
Coat color
White 75 33
White–black 12.5 67
Brown 12.5 –
Fleece color
White 75 100
Pale greyish brown 18.75 –
Fawn 6.25 –
Tail type
Fatty long 100 100
This study demonstrated that all the males of the evaluated
population of Cyprus fat–tailed had horns with arc shape, wattles,
bear and convex head shape. However, we found no females with
horns, but they do have wattles, bear, and convex head shape. This
nding is in line with Bebek and Keskin [21] who have reported that
the South Karaman sheep are generally black or blackish ash color.
Males of this breed are usually horned and females are hornless. These
sheep were mainly distributed in Antalya, Mersin, Hatay, and Gaziantep
Provinces. In the present study, 75 % of evaluated females were white
and the remaining were in white–black and brown coat colors in the
same proportion of 12.5%. Similarly, Yılmaz et al. [22] reported a wide
range of coat colors in South Karaman sheep. Cyprus fat–tailed sheep
breed has its origin mainly from Turkish fat–tailed sheep and the close
resemblance in its physical traits with South and White Karaman sheep
and the geographical and historical proximity to Cyprus may indicate
that the provenance of Cyprus fat–tailed sheep is either from Middle
Anatolia or South Anatolia. Furthermore, Kizilaslan et al. [23] revealed
Akkaraman sheep to be clustered with Moghani, Karakas, Tibetan and
Cyprus Fat Tail sheep. There are many different types of Akkaraman
breed such as Kangal, Karakas, and Norduz. Akkaraman sheep is
a combined, productive, large–bodied and well–built breed that is
well adapted to adverse breeding conditions [24, 25]. It is resistant
to harsh environmental conditions and diseases. It can be raised on
inadequate feeding system, different and variable climatic conditions.
Wattle and beard traits can be used as selection criteria to improve
animal performance [12], in thermoregulation and are related to higher
prolicity, higher fertility, higher conception rate, and higher milk yield
[26]. In the present study all females and males had wattle and bear.
Morphological indices of Cyprus fat–tailed sheep
The morphological indices and body weight of Cyprus fat–tailed
sheep breed are shown in TABLE IV. No interaction between gender
and age factors on Cyprus fat–tailed sheep breed morphological
indices and body weight. There was a gender effect for foreleg length
(FL), compact index (CI), area index (AI) and body weight (BW); Cyprus
fat–tailed sheep breed males had higher values than females (P<0.05;
TABLE IV). However, females had higher body index, length index,
and depth index. These ndings are in line with those reported by
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TABLE III
Impact of gender and age on morphometric traits in Cyprus fat–tailed sheep breed
Groups EL HL WH HG CD CW BL HH TL TW
Gender
Female 14.87 + 0.44 28.37 + 0.81 86.69 + 0.95 105.17 + 1.07 44.36 + 0.81 27.81 + 1.22 80.32 + 1.43 86.84 + 1.362 77.5 + 2.43 53.46 + 1.46
Male 15.25 + 0.75 30.00+ 1.39 93.75 + 1.62 111.62 + 1.83 46.50 + 1.39 33.75 + 2.08 85.25 + 2.43 94.12 + 2.33 84.5 + 4.15 54.37 + 2.49
Age (year old)
1 y 15.25 + 0.89 24.12 + 1.66
a
83.50 + 1.94
a
100.63 + 2.19
a
35.25 + 1.66
a
30.12 + 2.49 66.00 + 2.91
a
82.12 + 2.78
a
69.25 + 4.96 58.37 + 2.98
2 y 14.50 + 0.67 29.00 + 1.24
ab
90.50 + 1.45
ab
109.35 + 1.64
ab
47.10 + 1.24
b
29.00 + 1.86 83.90 + 2.18
b
89.55 + 2.08
ab
79.50 + 3.71 54.55 + 2.23
3 y 14.50 + 0.89 33.40 + 1.66
b
92.37 + 1.94
b
109.12 + 2.19
ab
47.87 + 1.66
b
30.00 + 2.49 87.50 + 2.91
b
92.50 + 2.78
ab
88.00 + 4.96 52.50 + 2.298
4 y 16.00 + 0.98 30.25 + 1.82
ab
94.50 + 2.13
b
114.50 + 2.40
b
51.50 + 1.82
b
34.00 + 2.73 93.75 + 3.19
b
97.75 + 3.05
b
87.25 + 5.4 50.25 + 3.26
Age × Gender
1 y × Female 14.50 + 0.8 23.25 + 1.48
a
82.00 + 1.74
a
98.25 + 1.96
a
35.50 + 1.49
a
31.25 + 2.23 68.00 + 2.60
a
81.25 + 2.49
a
67.50 + 4.43 54.75 + 2.66
1 y × Male 16.00 + 1.60 25.00 + 2.97
a
85.00 + 3.47
a
103.00 + 3.92
a
35.00 + 2.98
a
29.00 + 4.46 64.00 + 5.20
a
83.00 + 4.97
a
71.00 + 8.87 62.00 + 5.33
2 y × Female 14.00 + 0.72 27.00 + 1.32
ab
86.00 + 1.55
ab
103.20 + 1.75
ab
45.20 + 1.33
b
25.00 + 1.99 80.80 + 2.33
b
85.60 + 2.22
ab
73.00 + 3.96 51.60 + 2.38
2 y × Male 15.00 + 1.14 31.00 + 2.10
ab
95.00 + 2.45
ab
115.50 + 2.77
ab
49.00 + 2.11
b
33.00 + 3.15 87.00 + 3.68
b
93.50 + 3.52
ab
86.00 + 6.27 57.50 + 3.77
3 y × Female 15.00 + 0.80 32.75 + 1.48
b
87.75 + 1.74
b
106.25 + 1.96
ab
46.75 + 1.49
b
28.00 + 2.23 87.00 + 2.49
b
87.00 + 2.49
ab
83.00 + 4.43 56.00 + 2.66
3 y × Male 14.00 + 1.61 34.00 + 2.97
b
97.00 + 3.47
b
112.00 + 3.92
ab
49.00 + 2.98
b
32.00 + 4.46 93.00 + 5.20
b
98.00 + 4.97
ab
93+8.87 49.00 + 5.33
4 y × Female 16.00 + 1.14 30.50 + 2.10
ab
91.00 + 2.45
b
113.00 + 2.77
b
50.00 + 2.11
b
27.00 + 3.15 90.50 + 3.68
b
93.50 + 3.52
b
86.50 + 6.27 51.50 + 3.77
4 y × Male 16.00 + 1.61 30.00 + 2.97
ab
98.00 + 3.47
b
116.00 + 3.92
b
53.00 + 2.98
b
41.00 + 4.46 97.00 + 5.20
b
102 + 4.97
b
88.00 + 8.87 49.00 + 5.33
P–value
Age 0.599
0.014 0.011 0.007 0.001 0.528 0.001 0.017 0.072 0.330
Gender 0.674 0.333 0.003 0.010 0.210 0.030 0.106 0.019 0.171 0.760
Age × Gender 0.753 0.762 0.623 0.355 0.778 0.205 0.353 0.690 0.788 0.280
EL: Ear Length, HL: Head Length, WH: Wither Height, HG: Heart Girth, CD: Chest Depth, CW: Chest Width, BL: Body Length, HH: Hip Height, TL: Tail length, TW: Tail Width. Means with dierent
superscripts (
a,b
) within the same column are statistically dierent (P<0.05)
TABLE IV
Eect of sex on morphological indices in Cyprus fat-tailed sheep breed
Groups BI LI DI FL CI AI PI BW
Gender
Female 76.28 + 1.65 0.92 + 0.01 0.51 + 0.01 42.32 + 1.14 9.52 + 0.2 6990 + 160 109 + 2,25 82.99 + 1.88
Male 76.05 + 2.83 0.90 + 0.03 0.49 + 0.02 47.25 + 1.95 10.75 + 0.34 8060 + 274 112 + 3.85 101.5 + 3.22
Age (year old)
1 y 65.77 + 3.38
a
0.79 + 0.03
a
0.42 + 0.02
a
48.25 + 2.33 7.80 + 0.41
a
5508 + 327
a
127 + 4.60
a
65.24 + 3.85
a
2 y 76.83 + 2.53
ab
0.93 + 0.03
b
0.52 + 0.01
b
43.40 + 1.74 10.27 + 0.30
b
7615 + 245
b
108 + 3.44
b
93.37 + 2.88
b
3 y 80.19 + 3.38
ab
0.95 + 0.04
ab
0.52 + 0.02
b
44.50 + 2.33 10.43 + 0.41
bc
8107 + 327
bc
106 + 4.60
b
96.68 + 3.85
b
4 y 81.86 + 3.70
b
0.99 + 0.04
b
0.54 + 0.02
b
43.00 + 2.55 12.03 + 0.45
c
8870 + 358
c
101 + 5.03
b
113.70 + 4.21
c
Age × Gender
1 y × Female 69.41 + 3.02
a
0.83 + 0.03
a
0.43 + 0.02
a
46.50 + 2.08 7.32 + 0.36
a
5577 + 292
a
121 + 4.11
a
59.97 + 3.44
a
1 y × Male 62.13 + 6.05
a
0.75 + 0.07
a
0.41 + 0.04
a
50.00 + 4.16 8.29 + 0.73
a
5440 + 585
a
133 + 8.22
a
70.51 + 6.88
a
2 y × Female 78.28 + 2.71
ab
0.94 + 0.03
b
0.53 + 0.02
b
40.80 + 1.86 9.27 + 0.33
b
6955 + 262
b
107 + 3.68
b
79.63 + 3.08
b
2 y × Male 75.39 + 4.28
ab
0.91 + 0.05
b
0.52 + 0.03
b
46.00 + 2.94 11.27 + 0.52
b
8275 + 414
b
109 + 5.81
b
107.10 + 4.87
b
3 y × Female 77.34 + 3.02
ab
0.94 + 0.03
ab
0.53 + 0.02
b
41.00 + 2.08 9.74 + 0.36
bc
7192 + 292
bc
107 + 4.11
b
85.56 + 3.44
b
3 y × Male 83.03 + 6.05
ab
0.96 + 0.07
ab
0.50 + 0.04
b
48.00 + 4.16 11.11 + 0.73
bc
9021 + 585
bc
104 + 8.22
b
107.80 + 6.88
b
4 y × Female 80.09 + 4.28
b
0.99 + 0.05
b
0.55 + 0.03
b
41.00 + 2.94 11.75 + 0.52
c
8234 + 414
c
100.6 + 5.81
b
106.80 + 4.87
c
4 y × Male 83.62 + 6.02
b
0.99 + 0.07
b
0.54 + 0.04
b
45.00 + 4.16 12.31 + 0.73
c
9506 + 585
c
101 + 8.22
b
120.60 + 6.88
c
P–value
Age
0.026 0.015 0.006 0.383 0.001 0.001 0.010 0.001
Gender 0.944 0.565 0.413 0.049 0.009 0.005 0.520 0.001
Age × Gender 0.526 0.811 0.985 0.953 0.565 0.222 0.719 0.328
BI: Body Index, LI: Length Index,DI: Depth Index,FL: Foreleg length, CI: Compact Index, AI: Area Index, PI: Proportionality Index, BW: Body weight. Means with dierent superscripts
(
a,b
) within the same column are statistically dierent (P<0.05)
Morphometric indices of a local Cyprus fat-tailed Sheep / Arsoy and Abdourhamane ______________________________________________
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TABLE V
Pearson’s correlation coecients between body measurements
BW EL HL WH HG CD CW BL HH TL TW
BW 0.084 0.729** 0.869** 0.930** 0.823** 0.302 0.893** 0.820** 0.590** -0.066
EL 0.084 0.020 0.107 0.095 -0.013 0.129 -0.028 0.088 0.006 0.007
HL 0.729** 0.020 0.720** 0.728** 0.771** 0.081 0.630** 0.676** 0.653** -0.034
WH 0.869** 0.107 0.720** 0.817** 0.727** 0.335 0.739** 0.884** 0.593** -0.036
HG 0.930** 0.095 0.728** 0.817** 0.770** 0.356 0.697** 0.819** 0.491* 0.102
CD 0.823** -0.013 0.771** 0.727** 0.770** 0.048 0.780** 0.740** 0.597** -0.169
CW 0.302 0.129 0.081 0.335 0.356 0.048 0.114 0.164 0.110 0.135
BL 0.893** -0.028 0.630** 0.739** 0.697** 0.780** 0.114 0.655** 0.558** -0.262
HH 0.820** 0.088 0.676** 0.884** 0.819** 0.740** 0.164 0.655** 0.572** 0.009
TL 0.590** 0.006 0.653** 0.593** 0.491* 0.597** 0.110 0.558** 0.572** -0.169
TW -0.066 0.007 -0.034 -0.036 0.102 -0.169 0.135 -0.262 0.009 -0.169
BW: Body Weight, EL: Ear Length, HL: Head Length, WH: Wither Height, HG: Heart Girth, CD: Chest Depth, CW: Chest Width, BL: Body Length, HH: Hip Height, TL: Tail length, TW: Tail Width
Yilmaz et al. [22] and Yilmaz et al. [27] in Turkish fat–tailed sheep.
The higher values found in males could be attributed to the effects
of sex hormones which lead to a differential growth rate [29]. The
obtained results in this study were much higher than those reported
in South Karaman sheep by [27, 30].
For the proportionality index, although there was no statistical
signicance, male Cyprus fat–tailed sheep had a higher proportionality
index than females. Both genders had a proportionality value greater-
than 100, which indicates that the Cyprus fat–tailed sheep animal
has a greater proportion of muscle relative to the bone, which is
generally considered desirable for meat production. Based on the
body index, Cyprus fat–tailed sheep is classied as mediolineous with
a body index less-than 85. These results show how large are Cyprus
fat–tailed sheep and high growth performance could be expected.
In the same TABLE IV, age factor also had a signicant impact on
all the evaluated morphological indices, except for foreleg length
index. In general, the traits increased as the animal aged, except for
proportionality index, which decreased over time.
Correlations between the morphometric trait of Cyprus fat–
tailed sheep breed
The relationships between the morphometric trait of Cyprus
fat–tailed sheep breed are presented in TABLE V. Head length,
wither height, heart girth, chest depth, body length, and hip height
morphometric traits showed very high signicant positive correlation
with body weight (P<0.01). The highest correlation coecient found was
between body weight and heart girth (r= 0.930). It also found a medium
positive correlation between body weight and tail length. The obtained
positive correlations between weight and other body measurements
are in line with those reported by Melesse et al. [31] and Taye et al. [32].
Additionally, there were strong positive correlations between body
index and length index, and between compact index and area index
in TABLE VI.
On the other hand, the study found strong negative correlations
between body index and proportionality index, length index and
proportionality index, and between depth index and foreleg length.
These correlations could be used to estimate the body index and
proportionality index of the animal by only using its length index.
TABLE VI
Pearson’s correlation coecients between morphological indices
BI LI DI FL CI AI PI
BI 0.911** 0.486* -0.230 0.574** 0.753** -0.914**
LI 0.911** 0.624** -0.441* 0.716** 0.723** -0.995**
DI 0.486* 0.624** -0.827** 0.638** 0.555** -0.652**
FL -0.230 -0.441* -0.827** -0.214 -0.041 0.454*
CI 0.574** 0.716** 0.638** -0.214 0.899** -0.719**
AI 0.753** 0.723** 0.555** -0.041 0.899** -0.740**
P -0.914** -0.995** -0.652** 0.454* -0.719** -0.740**
BI: Body Index, LI: Length Index, DI: Depth Index, FL: Foreleg length, CI: Compact Index, AI: Area Index, PI: Proportionality Index, BW: Body weight
_____________________________________________________________________________Revista Cientifica, FCV-LUZ / Vol. XXXIV, rcfcv-e34355
7 of 8
CONCLUSIONS
The current study revealed the rst physical and morphological
results of a local Cyprus fat–tailed sheep necessary for their accurate
classication and identication.
The results showed that male Cyprus fat–tailed sheep had higher
wither height, chest width, hip height, foreleg length, compact index,
area index, and body weight than females. However, females had
higher body index, length index, depth index, and proportionality
index than males.
The study found that the morphometric traits increase as animal
age increases, except for the tail width, which decreases over time.
It was found strong positive correlations between body weight and
wither height, heart girth, chest depth, body length, and hip height. The
highest correlation coecient was between body weight and heart girth.
These ndings provide important information for the conservation
and breeding programs of the Cyprus fat–tailed sheep breed. It is
crucial to preserve the breed's genetic diversity and maintain its
unique traits to ensure the sustainability of the sheep production
industry in Cyprus.
Genetic and growth performance studies on Cyprus fat–tailed
sheep should be performed as well.
Availability of data and materials
The data supporting the ndings of the current study are available
from the authors upon reasonable request.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to express their great acknowledgment,
to the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine students who participated in
the study and sheep keepers for their help during data collection.
Financial support
The authors declared that no funds or other support were received
in this study.
Conict of interest
The authors declared that there is no conict of interest.
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