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Canine Morphology

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior

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Synonyms

Architecture; Canine shape; Canine structure; Form

Definition

Canine morphology refers to the size, shape, and structure of members of the Canidae family. Morphology also relates to the form and function of constituent parts of an animal and will consider the general anatomy and physiology of the organism in question. General canine morphology is representative of evolutionary ancestry and functionality, with species-specific variations associated with adaptation to specific ecological niches and selection pressures.

Introduction

Canine morphology considers the shape, size, structure, form, and function of members of the Caninae subfamily. The mammalian order Carnivora incudes the Canidae family which consists of three subfamilies, two extinct (the Borophaginae and Hesperocyoninae), and the extant Caninae (Miklosi 2015). Canines belong to the Caninae and have a typical body plan described as “dog-like,” quadruped with athletic, slender bodies, elongated muzzles, upright ears,...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Skinner’s Pet Foods, Stradbroke, UK

    Jacqueline Boyd

Authors
  1. Jacqueline Boyd
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Correspondence to Jacqueline Boyd .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Jennifer Vonk

  2. Department of Psychology, Oakland University Department of Psychology, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Georgia College & State University, Mobile, Al, USA

    Stephanie Jett

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Boyd, J. (2020). Canine Morphology. In: Vonk, J., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1764-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1764-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

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