E. V. Firsova
Murmansk State Agricultural Experimental Station – Branch of the Federal Research Center “All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources named after N. I. Vavilov (VIR)”, Molochnyy settlement, Murmansk region, Russia
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Volume 26 No. 9
Date of paper submission: 16.01.2026, date of review: 25.02.2026, date of acceptance: 19.03.2026
Published: 09/30/2026
Abstract. The purpose of the study was to identify age- and sex-related variability in craniometric parameters in reindeer Nenets breed in the Murmansk region. Methods: craniometric methods (linear measurements of the skull, calculation of craniological indices), statistical processing of the results. A total of 24 skulls of reindeer were studied, including males: 4 at 5.5 years old, 5 at 8 months old, 3 at 9 months old; females: 4 at 8 years old and 4 females each aged 8 and 9 months. Age was determined on prepared skulls based on teeth: in adults, by the degree of wear, and in young animals, by the degree of eruption of molars: M1 , M2 and M1 , M2 . Results. It was established that stable intersexual differences in the skull structure of reindeer appear from the age of 9 months. A significant superiority of males over females was revealed: in 9-month-old deer according to 18 measurements (1–7, 9, 15, 16, 26, 39, 40, 44, 48–50, 54), in adult reindeer (5.5 years and older) according to 17 craniological measurements (1–5, 7, 9, 22, 24, 30, 31, 46, 51, 52, 56, 61, 63), the extreme values of which did not go beyond the limits of each other. The skull of male deer was distinguished by a more developed occipital region compared to females. Males exceeded females in the width of the occipital plane (measurement No. 24): at 8 months by 3.28 mm (P > 0.99), at 9 months – by 5.77 mm (P > 0.95), at 5.5 years by 12.74 mm (P > 0.999), as well as in the 24/63 index in all studied age periods by 5.03, 5.95, 8.57 % (P > 0.99), respectively, and in the 24/15 index by 6.16 % (P > 0.999) in adult animals. Scientific novelty. For the first time, the severity of sexual dimorphism in craniometric parameters depending on the age of the animals was established in the population of domestic reindeer of the Nenets breed of the Murmansk region.
Keywords: domestic reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), Nenets breed, craniological indicators, sexual dimorphism
Acknowledgments. The author thanks Viktor Aleksandrovich Startsev, chairman of the Tundra Agricultural Cooperative, for his organizational support during the craniological studies in reindeer Nenets breed population. This study was completed under state exercise No. FGEM-2025-0003.
For citation: Firsova E. V. Age-sex variability of craniometric parameters of domestic reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) of the Nenets breed in the Murmansk region. Agrarian Bulletin of the Urals. 2026; 26 (09): 1755‒1768. https://doi.org/10.32417/1997-4868-2026-26-09-1755-1768 (In Russ.)
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