The mandibles of the Honamli and Hair goat (Capra hircus); a geometric morphometric study

The aim of the study was to analyze mandible of the Honamli and Hair goats according to the sex factor by geometric morphometric methods. A total of 36 adult goat mandibles including 9 males and 9 females for each breed, were used in the study. After the mandibles were photographed from the left lateral side, 10 homolog landmarks were marked. Generalized Procrustes, Relative Warp, and Principal Component Analysis were performed for the data of landmark coordinates. In the study, the first principal component explained 28.752% and 37.325% of the total shape difference in the Honamli and Hair goat, respectively. In the analysis made among goat breeds according to the sex factor, the first principal component explained 40.809% of the total shape difference in females and 30.486% of the total shape difference in males. Consequently, the Hair goat showed a significant sex difference compared to the Honamli goat. Besides, it was remarkable that male goats clustered clearly compared to female goats in terms of the breed factor.