Coat and skin morphology of hair sheep breeds in an equatorial semi-arid environment

Abstract This study aims to address if are there annual changes in the hair coat traits and skin morphology of hair sheep breeds raised in an equatorial semi-arid region? Coat and skin samples were taken from thirty Morada Nova (4 ± 2 years old; red coat; ±SD) and twenty Santa Ines multiparous ewes (5 ± 2 years old; brown and black coat; ±SD) every 3 months over a year. Hair coat traits included thickness (mm), density (number of hairs cm −2 ), length (mm), and diameter (mm), plus epidermal and dermal thickness (μm), sweat glands and blood capillaries area (μm cm −2 ) were determined. Means of solar irradiance and ambient air temperature were higher between September and December. Annual changes (P