Meet The First Identical Dog Twins

In South Africa, the first recorded identical dog twins were born. These are Cullen and Romulus, two pups of the Irish Lébrel breed. Both shared the same placenta and formed part of a litter of 7 furry ones.

How the identical dog twins were discovered

The discovery took place in the city of Mogale, South Africa. That’s when the veterinarian Kurt de Cramer decided to perform a cesarean on their mother, as she showed signs of complications in childbirth.

But when starting the surgical intervention, the doctor warned that the animal had a strange volume in the uterus. However, he attributed this to an excess of fluid surrounding one of the fetuses.

Great was the doctor’s surprise when he discovered that, in the same placenta, there was not one, but two pups.

Cullen and Romulus, the twin pups

Source: ichef.bbci.co.uk

Cramer – specializing in gynecology and animal reproduction – suspected at first that he was facing a case of identical dog twins, originating from the division of an embryo. In 26 years of work, he had never come across a case like this. Therefore, he decided to contact a group of colleagues to confirm this discovery.

The team was formed by 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 showing some minor differences in their coat stains. And the good news was published in the magazine “Reproduction in Domestic Animals”.

More tests to confirm the dogs are twins

Anyway, when the twins turned six weeks old, tissue samples were taken to analyze the DNA. On this occasion, they also took samples from their little brothers.

And once again it was proven that Cullen and Romulus were genetically identical. The other puppies had only genetic levels that are usually found in members of the same litter.

Thus, the doubts that arose with the small differences in the spots on their paws, chest and tail were definitively resolved. The explanation for this issue lies in the fact that, despite having the same DNA, genes can manifest themselves differently. In the case of humans, for example, monozygotic twins have distinct patterns of spots and fingerprints.

Are there other cases of twin dogs?

From this first record in the scientific literature of identical dog twins, the inevitable question arises whether this is an unusual fact.

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

• It is not usual to carry out a DNA test.
• Cesareans are not performed in all cases to visualize the number of placentas.
• Females usually eat the 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 these are not common cases.

Are twins common in the animal world?

Source: ichef.bbci.co.uk

Identical offspring are believed to be unusual, unlike humans and some armadillos.

But in general, when two fetuses share the same placenta, they don’t have enough nutrients and the same oxygen levels. For these reasons, there is a lower survival rate.

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

Source Photos: Kurt do Cramer, posted on www.bbc.com