Sexual dimorphism in the skull of Arctic Foxes Alopex lagopus L. from Svalbard
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Abstract
Sexual size dimorphism in 12 skull and mandible dimensions of Arctic Foxes Alopex lagopus from Svalbard was examined. Males (n = 59) were significantly larger than females (n = 51) in 11 of the measurements (average 4.0%, range 3.2 - 4.7%), and females were larger in one measurement (30.2%) that was negatively correlated with overall skull size. The last variable was not included in multivariate statistics since the individual variability was large. Zygomatic breadth was the single variable with best discriminating power, classifying 68% of the specimens to correct sex. All 11 variables classified 77% of the specimens correctly. Discriminant function scores of the sexes overlapped much, but the means were significantly different. Svalbard foxes appear to be smaller than Arctic Foxes from most other populations, but sexual dimorphism was not notably smaller.
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