Meet The First Identical Dog Twins

The first recorded identical dog twins were born in South Africa. They are Cullen and Romulus, two Irish Wolfhound puppies . Both shared the same placenta and were part of a litter of 7 peludines.

How Identical Dog Twins Were Discovered

The discovery occurred in the city of Mogale, in South Africa. It was when the veterinarian Kurt de Cramer decided to perform a cesarean section on the mother, as she showed signs of complications in the delivery.

But at the beginning of the surgery, the doctor noticed that the animal had a strange lump in the uterus. However, he attributed it to an excess of fluid surrounding one of the fetuses.

Great was the surprise of the doctor when he discovered that, in the same placenta, there were not one but two puppies.

Cullen and Romulus, the twin cubs

De Cramer -specialized in gynecology and animal reproduction- suspected from the outset that he was dealing with a case of identical dog twins, originating from the division of an embryo. It is that in 26 years of work he had never come across a case like this. So he decided to contact a group of colleagues to confirm the finding.

The team consisted of Carolynne Joone (James Cook University of Townsville, Australia) and Johan Nöthling (University of Pretoria, South Africa). Professionals performed blood tests on Romulus and Cullen when they were two weeks old.

Thus, it was confirmed that the puppies were genetically identical, despite the fact that they showed minor differences in the spots on their fur. And the good news was published in Reproduction in Domestic Animals magazine.

More analysis to confirm that the puppies are twins

However, when the twins were six weeks old, tissue samples were taken to analyze their DNA. On this occasion, samples were also collected from their little brothers.

And once again Cullen and Romulus were found to be genetically identical. Meanwhile, the rest of the puppies only had levels that are usually found in members of the same litter.

Thus, the doubts that had been manifested by the small differences in the spots on its legs, chest and tail were definitely cleared. The explanation for this issue is that, despite having the same DNA, genes can manifest themselves differently. In the case of humans, for example, monozygotic twins have different patterns of moles and fingerprints.

Aren’t there other cases of twin dogs?

From this first record in the scientific literature of identical dog twins, the question inevitably arises as to whether it is actually a strange fact.

Bitches usually give birth to puppies that are extremely similar to each other, but:

• It is not usual to carry out a DNA.
• Cesarean sections are not performed in all cases, such as to visualize the number of placentas.
• Females are used to eating placentas.

Therefore, despite this being the first confirmed case of identical dog twins, scientists cannot yet determine how common or strange this fact is. Although everything seems to indicate that they are not common cases.

Are twins common in the animal world?

The idea is that identical hatchlings are rare, except for humans and a breed of armadillos.

But usually, when two fetuses share the same placenta, they do not have enough nutrients and oxygen supply. For these reasons they have less chance of survival.

Meanwhile, Romulus and Cullen, although at birth they were smaller in weight and size than the rest of the litter, they grow up happily with their mother and siblings.

Source Photos: Kurt de Cramer, posted at www.bbc.com