Contreras Huamaní, MijailMendoza Leiva, César JorgeAlvaro Peralta, Jhoel KevinGuzman Santaria, HamiltonPalomino Guerrera, WalterQuispe Ccasa, Hurley Abel2026-08-112026-08-112026-07-07Contreras Huamaní, M., Mendoza Leiva, C. J., Alvaro Peralta, J. K., Guzman Santaria, H., Palomino-Guerrera, W., & Quispe-Ccasa, H. A. (2026). Morphostructural, phaneroptic characterization, and zoometric indices of Creole cattle (Bos taurus) from the high Andean region of Ayacucho, Peru. Animals, 16, 2101. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani161321012076-2615http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12955/3222Morphostructural characterization of Creole cattle is essential for assessing the diversity and productive potential in the highland livestock systems. The study was conducted in Chuschi and Chipao districts, at 3800 m above sea level, with the objective of morphostructurally characterizing 154 Creole cows. Seventeen phaneroptic variables and twenty-one morphometric variables were recorded. The multivariate analysis identified three cattle biotypes. Based on proportionality, compactness, and cannon bone load indices, Biotype 1 (16.9%) comprised more compact, robust, and heavier animals with a greater tendency toward meat production aptitude, followed by Biotype 2 (48.1%) and Biotype 3 (35.1%), which were more slender but with a stronger bone structure. No association was found between biotypes and phaneroptic characteristics, except for teat type (p < 0.05). The proportions of red, black, dull black, qosca, and roan coat colors were common across all biotypes; however, Biotype 1 predominated in callejon (15.38%), Biotype 2 in qosne (8.11%) and in other less frequent coat colors (10.81%), while Biotype 3 predominated in dark roan (16.67%) and jet black (11.11%). In the high-Andean region of Ayacucho, three subpopulations of Creole cattle were identified with potential for beef production dual-purpose use, and adaptation to rugged terrain, highlighting the need to investigate their genetic diversityapplication/pdfenginfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/CattleGanado bovinoMorphometryMorfometríaPhenotypic variationVariación fenotípicaAdaptationAdaptaciónHigh altitudeGran altitudinfo:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttps://purl.org/pe-repo/ocde/ford#4.03.01https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16132101Bos Taurus; Recurso genético animal, Animal genetic resources; Sistema pecuario; Livestock systems