Morphological characterization of Pelibuey sheep in Colima, México.

A study was conducted with the objective to characterize the morphology of Pelibuey sheep in the state of Colima, Mexico. A total of 386 sheep were scored for 12 body measurements in addition to live weight and five racial and eight functional indices were calculated. The influence of sex on the body measurements and indices was analyzed, and morphological harmony was determined through Pearson correlation. The sexual dimorphism was 1.21, with males being 67 % heavier than females. Females and males had a high and moderate degree of harmony in their morphological model, respectively. Pelibuey sheep were dolichocephalous, tended to be medium- to large-sized according to the thoracic index, with a convex curve rump; they were a homogeneous breed, well adapted to environmental and production conditions of the state of Colima, Mexico, and show an undefined zootechnical aptitude and therefore a great potential to be oriented towards meat or milk production through genetic selection or terminal crossbreeding systems using specialized breeds.