Geographical variability of the skull of the wolf in the Yenisei Siberia

Geographical variability researches of wolf skull parameters were conducted in the Yenisei Siberia. It was established that the changes of the sizes of the skull of the wolf from different geographical populations had adaptive character to habitat con-ditions. The results of morphological inspection of forest and polar wolves will be poorly coordinated with the theory of "clinal variability ". It was estab-lished that polar and forest wolves of the Yenisei North on key parameters of a skull had few differ-ences between themselves. The greatest parame-ters of a skull belonged to the East Siberian middle taiga wolf of Evenkia. Forest wolves of Evenkia authentically surpassed southern mountain and taiga skulls in all respects. The majority of indica-tors of the skull of Sayansk wolves corresponded to the indicators of Altai skull, but considerably con-ceded to them in Baikal wolves. On condylobasal length, malar, mastoid width, skull height, length and height of the lower jaw of Baikal mountain and taiga wolves (males and females) were close to North taiga wolves of Evenkia. The populations of these wolves in Baikal contacted and probably mixed among themselves because of focal charac-ter of the zone of steppes and combination of bor-ders of subbands of an average and southern mountain and taiga. The indicators of a skull of Sa-yansk mountain and taiga wolves authentically sur-passed forest-steppe ones in the total and condy-lobasal length, malar, brain, mastoid width, length, the height of the lower jaw. In all geographical pop-ulations of the wolf sexual dimorphism of indicators of a skull was expressed. The sizes of the main departments of a skull in females averaged 89-98 % of the sizes of males. The skull of females was narrower and front part and the top tooth alignment was rather longer than in males. Males authentical-ly surpassed females in the total and condylobasal length, malar, brain, mastoid width, skull height. The most essential distinctions were in malar width and length of front department. Skull width in fe-males most strongly varied in postorbital area, in males - at the level of carnivorous teeth and in in-terorbital area. The coefficient of variation of differ-ent signs in males was usually 1.5-2 times lower than in females.