MORPHO-BIOMETRICAL STUDY OF ROVE GOATS .1 . HEIGHT AT THE WITHERS (HW), DEPTH OF THE THORAX (DT), SUBSTERNAL GAP (SG) AND INDEX OF SUBSTERNAL SLENDERNESS (ISS) OF FEMALES

The data were gathered from a preservation flock of Rove goats, based in Maures, at Le Plan de Suviere, community of Collobrieres, Var, Fran ce. The equation for the self-inhibiting growth phase of the growth cu rve, corresponding to the so called monomolecular model [X = A - Be--k t], was used to study the height at the withers (KH = HG), the depth o f the thorax (DT = PT) and the substernal gap (SG = VSS = HG - PT) of 75 females between 4 months and 8 years of age. A represents the asymp totic value of the measurements, k is the relative growth rate and B i s a constant of integration such that X(0) = A - B. The evolution of t he index of substernal slenderness (ISs = IGs = VSS/PT) with age was a lso studied.' We demonstrated that the asymptotic values attained coul d be taken as pratical value at maturity because the degree of maturit y u = X/A of 97.5% for all these measurements was attained by 4.1 year s of age at the latest. This value corresponds to the anatomical obser vations relating to the degree of bone fusion.One has then : A' = HG(m ) = 66.5 cm; A '' = PTm = 32.6 cm and A''' = VSSm = 34.3 cm. Therefore , it could be considered that the practical value at maturity of IGs w ould be C = A'''/A '' = IGs(m) = 1.05. The index of sub-sternal slende rness (ISs = IGs), which quantifies the goats' long-legged character, makes biometric characterization and comparison of different goat bree ds possible. The value for IGs = 1.05, found for Rove goats, is very c lose to that observed for the small African goats of Northern Cameroon (1.14) but differs from the value observed for the large goats of Cha d (1.46). The depth of the thorax (DT = PT), which reflects the metabo lically effective body size, could also be used for biometrically disc riminating populations of goats. In the above;mentioned African goats it is 18 to 37 p. cent inferior to that of Rove breed (32.6 cm).'