The domestication of the wolf larynx – testing the neural crest connection

The Neural Crest Domestication Syndrome (NCDS) hypothesis suggests that selection pressures for tameness during animal domestication result in a down-regulation of neural crest cell migration and proliferation, providing a mechanistic explanation to traits commonly observed across domesticates. We test the viability of this hypothesis via a derived prediction. According to the NCDS hypothesis, neural crest-derived structures should be reduced throughout the entire organism in domesticated variants compared to their wild ancestors. Here we test this prediction by comparing the larynx of the wolf and the domestic dog. Anatomical landmarking of the cricoid and thyroid cartilages confirmed absolutely and relatively shorter vocal folds and smaller larynges in mesocephalic dogs compared to wolves. Additional quantification of the laryngeal anatomy shows normal (mesocephalic) dogs to have a smaller cricoid diameter and shape-altered thyroid shields. As an exploratory extension, we further quan..., Data was collected via geometric morphometric analysis of 3D models generated from CT scans of larynges, , # The domestication of the wolf larynx – testing the neural crest connection

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.q573n5ttx](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.q573n5ttx)

## Description of the data and file structure

This collection includes 3 main items: 

1\) A folder including all text files with the landmark coordinate information of every single individual that was measured in the study. The name of the file correlates with the ID of the individual.

2\) Code to run through our entire analysis pipeline in R/R Studio. The first version of the code (20250303_WolfDogLarynxCodeFINAL.R) is the pre-review version. The second version (20250501_WolfDogLarynxCodeFINAL.R) is the updated code with the requested revisions regarding the point shape in the PC plots.

3\) A ply file of a 3D reconstruction of a larynx that is used in the code to visually morph the shape changes on an actual model. We recommend the use of Blender (or any other freeware) capable of opening three dimensional data.

### Files...,