Editing Neoteny (section)

== In domestic animals ==

{{further|Domestication of animals}}

Neoteny is seen in domesticated animals such as dogs and mice.<ref name="sciencedirect.com">{{cite journal |last=Price |first=E. |year=1999 |title=Behavioral development in animals undergoing domestication |journal=Applied Animal Behaviour Science |volume=65 |issue=3 |pages=245–271 |doi=10.1016/S0168-1591(99)00087-8}}</ref> This is because there are more resources available, less competition for those resources, and with the lowered competition the animals expend less energy obtaining those resources. This allows them to mature and reproduce more quickly than their wild counterparts.<ref name="sciencedirect.com" /> The environment that domesticated animals are raised in determines whether or not neoteny is present in those animals. Evolutionary neoteny can arise in a species when those conditions occur, and a species becomes sexually mature ahead of its "normal development". Another explanation for the neoteny in domesticated animals can be the selection for certain behavioral characteristics. Behavior is linked to genetics which therefore means that when a behavioral trait is selected for, a physical trait may also be selected for due to mechanisms like [[linkage disequilibrium]]. Often, juvenile behaviors are selected for in order to more easily domesticate a species; aggressiveness in certain species comes with adulthood when there is a need to compete for resources. If there is no need for competition, then there is no need for aggression. Selecting for juvenile behavioral characteristics can lead to neoteny in physical characteristics because, for example, with the reduced need for behaviors like aggression, there is no need for developed traits that would help in that area. Traits that may become neotenized due to decreased aggression may be a shorter muzzle and smaller general size among the domesticated individuals. Some common neotenous physical traits in domesticated animals (mainly rabbits, dogs, pigs, ferrets, cats, and even foxes) include floppy ears, changes in the reproductive cycle, curly tails, [[piebald]] coloration, fewer or shortened vertebra, large eyes, rounded forehead, large ears, and shortened muzzle.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Vonk |first1=Jennifer |last2=Shackelford |first2=Todd |chapter=Neoteny |title=Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior |publisher=Springer |date=1 April 2022 |pages=4590–4592 |isbn=978-3-319-55064-0 }}</ref><ref name="Bertone, J. 2006">Bertone, J. (2006). Equine geriatric medicine and surgery. Saunders, MI.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Trut |first=L. N. |year=1999 |title=Early canid domestication: the farm-fox experiment |journal=American Scientist |volume=87 |issue=2 |pages=160–169 |doi=10.1511/1999.2.160 |bibcode=1999AmSci..87.....T }}</ref>

[[File:Unnatural selection, 2 heads, one species.jpg|thumb|Neoteny and reduction in skull size – [[grey wolf]] and [[chihuahua dog|chihuahua]] skulls]]

When the role of dogs expanded from just being [[Working Group (dogs)|working dogs]] to also being [[companion dog|companions]], humans started [[selective breeding]] dogs for [[Morphology (biology)|morphological]] neoteny, and this selective breeding for "neoteny or paedomorphism" "strengthened the human-canine bond."<ref name="McGreevy" /> Humans bred dogs to have more "juvenile physical traits" as adults, such as short snouts and wide-set eyes which are associated with puppies because people usually consider these traits to be more attractive.<!-- This is on the bottom of page 167. --> Some breeds of dogs with short snouts and broad heads such as the [[Komondor]], [[St. Bernard (dog)|Saint Bernard]] and [[Maremma Sheepdog]] are more morphologically neotenous than other breeds of dogs.<!-- This is in the second paragraph of page 170. --><ref>Beck, A.M. & Katcher, A.H. (1996). Between Pets and People: The Importance of Companionship. West Lafayette, Indiana: Purdue University Press. {{ISBN|1-55753-077-7}}</ref> [[Cavalier King Charles spaniel]]s are an example of selection for neoteny because they exhibit large eyes, pendant-shaped ears and compact feet, giving them a morphology similar to puppies as adults.<!-- This is on page 332 in the second paragraph. --><ref name="McGreevy">McGreevy, P.D. & Nicholas, F.W. (1999). Some Practical Solutions to Welfare Problems in Dog Breeding. In Animal Welfare. 8: 329–341.</ref>

In 2004, a study that used 310 wolf skulls and over 700 dog skulls representing 100 breeds concluded that the evolution of dog skulls can generally not be described by heterochronic processes such as neoteny, although some pedomorphic dog breeds have skulls that resemble the skulls of juvenile wolves.<ref>Drake, Abby Grace, "Evolution and development of the skull morphology of canids: An investigation of morphological integration and heterochrony" (January 1, 2004). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. Paper AAI3136721. [http://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI3136721 link]</ref> By 2011, the findings by the same researcher were simply "Dogs are not paedomorphic wolves."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Drake |first1=Abby Grace |doi=10.1111/j.1525-142X.2011.00470.x |pmid=21410876 |title=Dispelling dog dogma: An investigation of heterochrony in dogs using 3D geometric morphometric analysis of skull shape |journal=Evolution & Development |year=2011 |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=204–213 |s2cid=20893501}}</ref>