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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Published in:Royal Society Open Science
Main Authors: Akitsugu Konno, Hitomi Aoki, Emiri Suzuki, Seiya Furuta, Sayoko Ueda
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: The Royal Society 2023
Subjects:
eye
Q
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.230854
https://doaj.org/article/28df4ce4c5bf4a349cdf7f7a7d9c0bc9
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spelling ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:28df4ce4c5bf4a349cdf7f7a7d9c0bc9 2024-02-11T10:02:46+01:00 Are dark-eyed dogs favoured by humans? Domestication as a potential driver of iris colour difference between dogs and wolves Akitsugu Konno Hitomi Aoki Emiri Suzuki Seiya Furuta Sayoko Ueda 2023-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.230854 https://doaj.org/article/28df4ce4c5bf4a349cdf7f7a7d9c0bc9 EN eng The Royal Society https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.230854 https://doaj.org/toc/2054-5703 doi:10.1098/rsos.230854 2054-5703 https://doaj.org/article/28df4ce4c5bf4a349cdf7f7a7d9c0bc9 Royal Society Open Science, Vol 10, Iss 12 (2023) dogs domestication evolution eye iris colour wolves Science Q article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.230854 2024-01-14T01:50:37Z 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 Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Royal Society Open Science 10 12
institution Open Polar
collection Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles
op_collection_id ftdoajarticles
language English
topic dogs
domestication
evolution
eye
iris colour
wolves
Science
Q
spellingShingle dogs
domestication
evolution
eye
iris colour
wolves
Science
Q
Akitsugu Konno
Hitomi Aoki
Emiri Suzuki
Seiya Furuta
Sayoko Ueda
Are dark-eyed dogs favoured by humans? Domestication as a potential driver of iris colour difference between dogs and wolves
topic_facet dogs
domestication
evolution
eye
iris colour
wolves
Science
Q
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.
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author Akitsugu Konno
Hitomi Aoki
Emiri Suzuki
Seiya Furuta
Sayoko Ueda
author_facet Akitsugu Konno
Hitomi Aoki
Emiri Suzuki
Seiya Furuta
Sayoko Ueda
author_sort Akitsugu Konno
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 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.230854
https://doaj.org/article/28df4ce4c5bf4a349cdf7f7a7d9c0bc9
genre Canis lupus
genre_facet Canis lupus
op_source Royal Society Open Science, Vol 10, Iss 12 (2023)
op_relation https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.230854
https://doaj.org/toc/2054-5703
doi:10.1098/rsos.230854
2054-5703
https://doaj.org/article/28df4ce4c5bf4a349cdf7f7a7d9c0bc9
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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