RELATIVE GROWTH OF PHYSIQUES IN LABORATORY-BRED CYNOMOLGUS MONKEYS - A LONGITUDINAL-STUDY DURING THE 1ST 6 YEARS OF LIFE

Physical growth was studied longitudinally in laboratory-bred cynomolg us monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) aged from birth to 6.0 years in femal es and to 6.5 years in males. An allometric formula was applied to mor phometrical growth data and the relative growth of each morphpological site to anterior trunk length was analyzed. The growth patterns of al l of the measurement sites in females and most of the sites in males s howed monophasic allometry, while those of head length, head breadth a nd morphological upper face length in males were judged to show diphas ic allometry. The growth patterns of morphological total face length, upper arm length and lower arm length in some males showed diphasic al lometry. Morphological measurements with negative allometry were head length, head breadth,morphological total face length, total head heigh t, biacrominal breadth, hand length and foot length, while the other m orphological measurements revealed isometry in both sexes. However, th e values of the relative growth coefficient to anterior trunk length w ere larger in males than in females, except for in the case of biiliac breadth. These differences in growth patterns may cause the morpholog ical differences between genders after sexual maturation in this prima te species.