Sexual dimorphism in the claws of the European terrapin (Emys orbicularis): potential implications for the reproductive fitness of the species.

Q3 Agricultural and Biological Sciences Basic and Applied Herpetology Pub Date : 2019-05-28 DOI:10.11160/BAH.91
Gonzalo Alarcos, J. Madrigal‐González, M. Lizana, F. Flechoso
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引用次数: 2

Abstract

There are many biometric differences between the males and females of the European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis) as regards their size, colouring, the shape of the plastron, tail, etc. The males use their claws to grasp the female during copulation and hence sexual selection should favour the males that have larger claws, which allow them to grasp the female better. Here, we address this type of sexual dimorphism in a comparative analysis of indices obtained from claw length, the length of the carapace and the locality where individuals were sampled. The results show that the curvature of the claws differs between the two sexes, being longer in males and increasing with age, size, and hence, the state of sexual maturity, than in females. Greater claw length could confer advantages for males when grasping the carapace of females, and hence, improve their reproductive fitness. Importance in the reproductive success that might have this feature in males could originate future studies that will relate the shape, thickness, length and other measures of the claws in males with their reproductive success in different populations, genetic variety, and most importantly, viability of populations.
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欧洲龟爪的两性二态性:对该物种生殖适应性的潜在影响。
欧洲池龟(Emys orbicularis)的雄性和雌性在体型、颜色、板板形状、尾巴等方面存在许多生物特征差异。雄性在交配时用爪子抓住雌性,因此性选择应该倾向于有更大爪子的雄性,因为它们能更好地抓住雌性。在这里,我们通过比较分析从爪长、甲壳长度和个体取样地点获得的指数来解决这种性别二态性。结果表明,两性之间的爪子弯曲度不同,雄性的爪子更长,并且随着年龄、大小和性成熟状态的增加而增加。较大的爪长可能会给雄性在抓住雌性的甲壳时带来优势,从而提高它们的生殖适应性。这一特征对雄性繁殖成功的重要性可能会引发未来的研究,这些研究将把雄性爪子的形状、厚度、长度和其他指标与它们在不同种群中的繁殖成功、遗传多样性、最重要的是种群的生存能力联系起来。
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来源期刊
Basic and Applied Herpetology
Basic and Applied Herpetology Agricultural and Biological Sciences-Animal Science and Zoology
CiteScore
1.30
自引率
0.00%
发文量
0
期刊介绍: Basic and Applied Herpetology (B&AH) is the open access scientific journal of the Spanish (AHE) and Portuguese (APH) Herpetological Societies. B&AH publishes original Research Papers and updated Reviews about especially interesting issues dealing with any aspect of amphibians and reptiles worldwide. Authors can also submit Short Notes if these are organized around hypotheses appropriately argued and analysed quantitatively.
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