Morphometric evaluation and structural indices of Thuvarai cattle: insights into autochthonous draft cattle of southern India

This study focuses on the morphometric characterization of the Thuvarai cattle, an unexplored non-descript draft cattle germplasm native to North-eastern districts of Tamil Nadu state, India. A total of 284 adult cattle (166 males and 118 females) from their native breeding tract were assessed using 13 linear body measurements and 7 derived structural indices. Descriptive statistics revealed that horn length exhibited the highest variability, while body length, chest girth, and height at withers were more uniform, indicating a consistent body conformation among the population. Hierarchical cluster analysis grouped traits into cranial and skeletal clusters; and paired t-tests confirmed that Thuvarai cattle are taller, possess narrow head, and have well-developed abdominal region. Significant positive correlations were observed among most morphometric traits, notably between chest girth and paunch girth. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) extracted three components explaining 64% of the total variance, with chest girth showing the highest communality, suggesting its effectiveness in explaining body conformation. Stepwise discriminant analysis identified height at withers as the most discriminating trait, accounting for 15% of the total variation. These findings provide essential baseline data for breed identification and lay the foundation for subsequent studies involving performance evaluation, genetic diversity assessment, and molecular characterization.