The Habbanite Isolate. III.

Abstract
A morphological characterization of the Habbanite community in Israel included about 25 anthropometric measurements and some 10 observations for 239 males and 267 females. The Habbanites can be described as rather short in stature, hyperbrachycephalic with long but narrow facial features. Heights and weights estimates of 275 Habbanite boys and girls, 6–17 years of age, are much lower than those of British or US children (below the 3rd percentile), and also lower than those of children from various other ethnic groups in Israel. The coefficient of variations for metric characteristics is not different between the sexes. Uniformity of type is also reflected in traits such as hair and eye color. Determination of taste thresholds for phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) indicates solutions No. 9 and 10 as the mode for tasters. The percentage of non-tasters is not very low (19.75%). Only two males had defects in color vision; both their mothers were not from Habban. The Habbanites’ physical features do not resemble those of the populations surrounding them or among whom they have been dwelling for several hundred years. It is claimed that on the basis of these results, together with the serological and dermatoglyphic data, the Habbanites can be regarded as a true genetic isolate.