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Pugs and Persians evolving to look alike
“Persian cats and pug and Pekingese dogs all have skull shapes that are very similar to each other, with flat and short faces, and their muzzles and palettes are tilted up in the same way ' - Abby Grace Drake.

The breeds have evolved with almost identical skulls.

A study by US scientists has revealed that intensive breeding has led to a tendency for “convergence”, a phenomenon where unrelated animals and plants evolve similar traits under similar characteristics.

The team from Cornell and Washington universities used CT scans to measure the skulls of brachycephalic dogs and cats, and found that certain breeds, like pugs and Persian cats, have evolved with almost identical skulls and smushed faces. 

Researchers believe that artificial selection, despite being evolutionarily separated for 50 million years, has caused these two species to converge to such an extreme that they are now more similar to each other than other breeds within their own species.

The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, is the first to observe the phenomenon in a domesticated species. 

Study author Abby Grace Drake, senior lecturer in Cornell’s College of Arts and Sciences, said: “Persian cats and pug and Pekingese dogs all have skull shapes that are very similar to each other, with flat and short faces, and their muzzles and palettes are tilted up in the same way.”

The study highlights the same pattern of convergence multiple times within
each species. In dogs, it occurred in bulldog breeds and Pekingese, Shih Tzus. In cats, it notes the same traits in Persian and Burmese breeds. 

Dr Drake believes the findings show how artificial selection has driven "remarkable" diversity in cats and dogs, with dog diversity being even more extreme. 

“We’re seeing this very large evolutionary variation within a species that’s only been evolving for a relatively very short amount of time,” Drake said. “That’s a remarkable thing to see in evolution, which takes millions of years, but we did it with dogs by pushing them to the extremes,” she said. 

Image (C) Shutterstock.

 

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Practices urged to audit neutering data

News Story 1
 RCVS Knowledge has called on vet practices to audit their post-operative neutering outcomes.

It follows the release of the 2024 NASAN benchmarking report, which collates data from neutering procedures performed on dogs, cats and rabbits.

The benchmarking report enables practices in the UK and Ireland to compare their post-operative outcomes to the national average. This includes the rate of patients lost to follow-up, which in 2024 increased to 23 per cent.

Anyone from the practice can submit the data using a free template. The deadline for next report is February 2026.

Visit the RCVS Knowledge website to complete an audit. 

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News Shorts
RCVS pays tribute to well-loved equine vet

The RCVS and the Riding Establishments Subcommittee has paid tribute to well-loved veterinary surgeon and riding establishment inspector, Rebecca Hamilton-Fletcher MRCVS.

Linda Belton MRCVS, RCVS President, said: "I, along with my colleagues on the RESC, RCVS Council, RCVS Standards Committee, as well as RCVS staff, was very saddened to hear of the sudden death of Rebecca, or Becca as we knew her, last week.

"She was a true advocate for equine welfare and in her many years on the RESC worked to continually improve the quality and consistency of riding establishment inspections, all in the interests of enhanced horse welfare and rider safety."