Abstract :
Lama guanicoe guanicoe is the guanaco subspecies located in the Argentinean Patagonia.
It is of particular interest to characterize these populations as it is a native species and a
high quality fibre production genetical resource. With the aim of describing phenotipically
Lama guanicoe guanicoe populations, 262 specimens were sampled. The animals came from
four different ecological regions, both wild and bred in captivity, from 5 ranches. Three age
classes were established: calves (0–1 year), yearlings (1–2 years) and adults (more than 2
years). Morphometric variables measured were: body length (BL), thoracic depth (TD), half
thoracic perimeter (HTP), head length (HL), shin length (ShL) and metacarpal circumference
(MC). Fleece samples were evaluated on two ranches (n = 115) for: fleece total weight (FTW)
and mean diameter of down (MDFD). Relationships between variables were studied and
differences between morphostructures considering sex, age and ranch were analyzed. Age
was the most important differencing factor (p < 0.05) for all morphometric traits (except for
the ShL between yearlings and adults). Calves had finer MDFD (14.2±0.6 m) and less FTW
(159±47 g) than yearlings (15±5.8 mand 254±57 g). Sexual dimorphism was not found
in calves nor in yearlings for any of the morphometric characters considered. Adult females
presented greater significant values (p < 0.05) for TD (42.7±2.1 cm) and HTP (55.4±3.2 cm)
than males (41.6±2.3cm and 53±2.9 cm, respectively). Only calf males presented higher
significant values than females for the FTW (169±42 g and 147±51 g, respectively). FTW
and MDFD were positively correlated between them (0.42) and with the thoracic measures
(TD and HTP), these data imply an inverse relationship between quality and quantity of
the fleece and suggest that the thoracic variables are good indicators of the fleece animal
production in these Patagonian populations.
