Geometric morphometric analysis of the molars in three species of the genus Mus (Mus) (Rodentia, Muridae) based on the outline method

Abstract

The relatively new technique of outline-based geometric morphometrics was applied in a study of the variation in the shape of the upper and lower molars among 122 mice, belonging to one species from Iran (Mus musculus) and two species from Europe (Mus macedonicus, Mus spicilegus). Differentiation of specimens based on molar shape was highly dependent on the details of the shape information. Among molars, the second upper and first lower molars are better at separating the species. This method provides a useful way to distinguish species based on the outline of their molars.

Keywords: shape variation; upper and lower molars; mice; Iran; Europe.