Table 3.

Description of the six morphometric traits recorded on four indigenous cattle breeds from Benin

Morphometric traits	Description	Measuring device
Height at withers	Vertical distance from the bottom of the front foot to the highest point of the shoulder between the withers	Measuring stick
Sacrum height	Distance from the top of the bone at the base of the tail to the ground	Measuring stick
Heart girth	Circumference of the body immediately behind the shoulder blades in a vertical plane, perpendicular to the long axis of the body	Measuring tape
Hip width	Distance between the rearmost posterior points of pin bones	Wooden caliper
Body length	Horizontal distance from the point of the shoulder to the pin bone	Measuring tape
Ear length	Length on the back side of the ear from its root on the poll to the tip	Measuring tape