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Dhole Skull Measurements Revealed Three Broad Geographic Morphological Groups Across Asia

Wild dhole walking in Pench National Park, India
Research · Anatomy & morphology

A 2026 study of dhole (Cuon alpinus) skulls found marked geographic variation across the species’ modern range. Researchers measured 73 skulls from museum collections using 22 measurements of the cranium and lower jaw to compare size and shape among animals from northern continental Asia, other continental populations and southern peninsular and island populations. Morphometric analysis combines many such measurements to identify overall patterns in form rather than relying on a single skull feature.

Northern populations generally had larger skulls

The study found no significant sexual dimorphism in the cranial measurements. Geographic differences were clearer: skulls from northern populations were generally larger than those from farther south, and analyses that combined the measurements identified three main morphometric groups.

Three broad geographic clusters emerged, but with overlap

One group consisted mainly of northern continental dholes from southern Eastern Siberia and the Altai–Tien Shan region. A second was dominated by other continental forms traditionally assigned to C. a. primaevus, C. a. adustus and C. a. dukhunensis. The third was centred on animals from Java, Sumatra and southern Indochina. Some specimens fell outside these dominant patterns, so the groups were broad morphological clusters rather than perfectly separated taxonomic boxes. A weaker secondary pattern was also detected within these broader groups.

The authors propose that the main geographical pattern in skull morphology may have developed during the Middle to Late Pleistocene, with finer-scale differentiation emerging during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. The analysed material came from Kyrgyzstan, Russia, China, India, Nepal, Myanmar, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Sources and image credit

  1. Baryshnikov, G. F., & Puzachenko, A. Y. (2026). Cranial variation in the dhole, Cuon alpinus (Carnivora: Canidae), across its contemporary geographical range. Zoosystematica Rossica, 35(1), 90–108. https://doi.org/10.31610/zsr/2026.35.1.90Primary research article published online 24 May 2026. The authors analysed 22 skull and mandible measurements from 73 extant dholes in museum collections, finding no significant cranial sexual dimorphism, larger skulls in northern populations and three principal geographic morphometric groups.

Image: Rohit Sharma — wild dhole photographed in Pench National Park, India, 13 April 2024; Wikimedia Commons; representative species image, not one of the museum specimens examined in the study · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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