Résumé
Domestic animals are often described as paedomorphic, meaning that they
retain juvenile characteristics into adulthood. Through a
three-dimensional landmark-based geometric morphometric analysis of
cranial morphology at three growth stages, we demonstrate that wild boar
(n = 138) and domestic pigs (n = 106) (Sus scrofa) follow distinct
ontogenetic trajectories. With the exception of the size ratio between
facial and neurocranial regions, paedomorphism does not appear to be the
primary pattern describing the observed differences between wild and
domestic pig cranial morphologies. The cranial phenotype of domestic pigs
instead involves developmental innovation during domestication. This
result questions the long-standing assumption that domestic animal
phenotypes are paedomorphic forms of their wild counterparts.