Qualitative Morphological Characterization of Male Indonesian Local Sheep Breeds on Java Island, Indonesia

Background: Sheep is one of the small ruminant types widely distributed and popular in Indonesia, especially on Java Island. This study aimed to characterize male Indonesian local sheep breeds on Java Island based on their qualitative morphological traits. Methods: This study identified twenty-nine qualitative morphological characteristics in 627 head sheep consisting of Priangan, Garut, Batur, Wonosobo, Javanese Thin Tailed (JTT), Javanese Fat-Tailed (JFT) and Sapudi sheep. Data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, Chi-square analysis (X2), multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA). Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 25 and NTSYS-pc version 2.11. Result: All the qualitative morphological traits variables were significantly different (P<0.01) between the seven sheep breeds. Seven sheep breeds could be categorized into three groups: 1) JFT and Sapudi sheep; 2) JTT, Priangan and Garut sheep; and 3) Batur and Wonosobo sheep. The Garut and Batur sheep have the most distant relationship (26.781). The JFT and Sapudi sheep have the closest relationship (1.345), as well as between Batur and Wonosobo sheep (10.064) and between Priangan and JTT sheep (2.453). Garut sheep have the most distant relationship with other sheep breeds, except with Priangan (4.259) and JTT (8.157) sheep. It was concluded that male Indonesian local sheep breeds on Java Island could be characterized using qualitative morphological traits.