Morphometric study of the Colombian Creole pigs Zungo and Sampedreño

Abstract

The Zungo and Sampedreño Creole pig breeds are native to Colombia. Both constitute an animal genetic resource adapted for use in the peasant economy and the food security of rural communities. Research on morphometric characterization in these breeds is scarce and its study establishes the bases for their racial and productive classification. The objective of this work was to determine the body morphometry and zoometric indices of the Zungo and Sampedreño Creole pig breeds. 56 animals of the Zungo breed and 33 animals of the Sampedreño breed from the AGROSAVIA germplasm bank were used. Five head variables and seven body variables were measured. Four indices were estimated. The study was cross-sectional. Descriptive statistics and estimation of confidence intervals were performed for the variables and indices. Univariate analysis was performed for comparison between races. The SPSS-26 program was used for data analysis. The results indicated that the Sampedreño breed had greater body size and the Zungo breed had greater head length. The univariate analysis showed significant differences in the variables head length, head width, ear width, body length, ilio-ischial length, thoracic perimeter and shaft perimeter between the breeds. The indices classified the Zungo breed as dolichocephalic and the Sampedreño as Mesocephalic; both breeds were mesolineal, with an elongated pelvis and rectangular dimensions consistent with meat production animals and with a predisposition to fattening. The Zungos and Sampedreños share morphological characteristics with other Ibero-American Creole biotypes which could be explained by their common origin. The morphostructural characterization of both breeds allowed establishing the racial standard, productive orientation and its application for the selection of animals.