COMPARATIVE-ANALYSIS OF MORPHOLOGICAL TRA ITS IN MEDITERRANEAN AND CHINESE CHICKEN BREEDS - THE PROBLEM OF THE ORIGIN OF THE DOMESTIC CHICKEN

The degree of similarity between chicken breeds of Mediterranean and C hinese origin, on one hand, and red jungle fowl (Gallus gallus), on th e other, was determined with respect to 35 discrete morphological trai ts. The results confirm the similarity between Mediterranean breeds an d the wild form of Gallus gallus, noticed by many authors, and demonst rate the considerable typological diversity of Chinese chicken breeds. As certain ancient Chinese breeds clustered with Mediterranean breeds and wild fowl, the conclusion was drawn concerning the existence in a ncient times of a chicken originating in Asia but resembling the Medit erranean type. This fact and several archeological findings provide ev idence that the archetypal domestic chicken was of the light egg type. Centers of the origin and formation of domestic chicken types proved to coincide with certain centers of the origin of cultivated plant var ieties discovered by N.I. Vavilov.