Are dark-eyed dogs favoured by humans? Domestication as a potential driver of iris colour difference between dogs and wolves
Comparative studies have shown that the eye morphology of primates has been shaped by a variety of selection pressures (e.g. communication, environmental factors). To comprehensively elucidate the complex links between ocular morphology and its evolutionary drive, attention should be paid to other p...
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crroyalsociety:10.1098/rsos.230854 2024-06-02T08:05:02+00:00 Are dark-eyed dogs favoured by humans? Domestication as a potential driver of iris colour difference between dogs and wolves Konno, Akitsugu Aoki, Hitomi Suzuki, Emiri Furuta, Seiya Ueda, Sayoko JSPS 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.230854 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.230854 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsos.230854 en eng The Royal Society http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Royal Society Open Science volume 10, issue 12 ISSN 2054-5703 journal-article 2023 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.230854 2024-05-07T14:16:54Z Comparative studies have shown that the eye morphology of primates has been shaped by a variety of selection pressures (e.g. communication, environmental factors). To comprehensively elucidate the complex links between ocular morphology and its evolutionary drive, attention should be paid to other phylogenetic groups. Here, we address a new question regarding the evolution of eye colour patterns in the oldest domesticated animal, namely, the domestic dog ( Canis familiaris ). In this study, we conducted an image analysis of dogs and their closest relatives, grey wolves ( Canis lupus ), to compare the colours of their irises, with the aim of assessing whether eye colours of dogs affect how humans perceived dogs. We found that the irises of dogs were significantly darker than those of wolves. We also found that facial images of dark-eyed dogs were perceived as more friendly and immature, potentially eliciting caregiving responses from humans. Our findings are consistent with our expectation that humans favour dark-eyed dogs over light-eyed ones and provide an updated hypothesis that dogs with dark eyes may have evolved by acquiring a facial trait that sends a non-threatening gaze signal to humans. Article in Journal/Newspaper Canis lupus The Royal Society Royal Society Open Science 10 12 |
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English |
description |
Comparative studies have shown that the eye morphology of primates has been shaped by a variety of selection pressures (e.g. communication, environmental factors). To comprehensively elucidate the complex links between ocular morphology and its evolutionary drive, attention should be paid to other phylogenetic groups. Here, we address a new question regarding the evolution of eye colour patterns in the oldest domesticated animal, namely, the domestic dog ( Canis familiaris ). In this study, we conducted an image analysis of dogs and their closest relatives, grey wolves ( Canis lupus ), to compare the colours of their irises, with the aim of assessing whether eye colours of dogs affect how humans perceived dogs. We found that the irises of dogs were significantly darker than those of wolves. We also found that facial images of dark-eyed dogs were perceived as more friendly and immature, potentially eliciting caregiving responses from humans. Our findings are consistent with our expectation that humans favour dark-eyed dogs over light-eyed ones and provide an updated hypothesis that dogs with dark eyes may have evolved by acquiring a facial trait that sends a non-threatening gaze signal to humans. |
author2 |
JSPS |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Konno, Akitsugu Aoki, Hitomi Suzuki, Emiri Furuta, Seiya Ueda, Sayoko |
spellingShingle |
Konno, Akitsugu Aoki, Hitomi Suzuki, Emiri Furuta, Seiya Ueda, Sayoko Are dark-eyed dogs favoured by humans? Domestication as a potential driver of iris colour difference between dogs and wolves |
author_facet |
Konno, Akitsugu Aoki, Hitomi Suzuki, Emiri Furuta, Seiya Ueda, Sayoko |
author_sort |
Konno, Akitsugu |
title |
Are dark-eyed dogs favoured by humans? Domestication as a potential driver of iris colour difference between dogs and wolves |
title_short |
Are dark-eyed dogs favoured by humans? Domestication as a potential driver of iris colour difference between dogs and wolves |
title_full |
Are dark-eyed dogs favoured by humans? Domestication as a potential driver of iris colour difference between dogs and wolves |
title_fullStr |
Are dark-eyed dogs favoured by humans? Domestication as a potential driver of iris colour difference between dogs and wolves |
title_full_unstemmed |
Are dark-eyed dogs favoured by humans? Domestication as a potential driver of iris colour difference between dogs and wolves |
title_sort |
are dark-eyed dogs favoured by humans? domestication as a potential driver of iris colour difference between dogs and wolves |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.230854 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.230854 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsos.230854 |
genre |
Canis lupus |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus |
op_source |
Royal Society Open Science volume 10, issue 12 ISSN 2054-5703 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.230854 |
container_title |
Royal Society Open Science |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
12 |
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1800749778456281088 |