Sexual Shape Variation and Allometric Effects in Guinea Pig (Cavia porcellus) Skulls

Abstract

The skull provides essential diagnostic features for species identification and sex determination. Cranial sexual dimorphism in guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) is particularly important to understand, as these animals are frequently used in experimental research and veterinary practice, yet detailed morphometric evaluations remain limited. This study aimed to assess cranial size and shape variation between sexes using three-dimensional geometric morphometric (GM) methods. Computed tomography scans of 30 clinically healthy guinea pigs were used to reconstruct three-dimensional skull models. Twenty-one anatomical landmarks were digitized, and the dataset was subjected to generalized Procrustes analysis, followed by principal component analysis, Procrustes ANOVA, and regression-based allometric assessments. The results revealed pronounced sexual dimorphism. Males exhibited significantly larger centroid sizes and more robust cranial morphologies, whereas females presented smaller and more gracile skull forms. Procrustes ANOVA confirmed significant shape differences between sexes (p < 0.01), with size being the primary driver of morphological divergence. Body weight had a weaker but detectable influence on cranial variation, although its effect diminished after accounting for centroid size (R2: 0.085). These findings demonstrate that three-dimensional geometric morphometrics can effectively detect subtle patterns of cranial dimorphism in guinea pigs. Beyond their anatomical relevance, the results provide a valuable reference for veterinary sciences, taxonomy, and future biomedical research requiring precise morphological characterization. These findings show that three-dimensional geometric morphometrics can effectively detect subtle patterns of sexual dimorphism in cranial shape, which is particularly relevant for sex identification in skeletal collections and for the development of comparative anatomical databases in veterinary and experimental research.