Sexing Cape Vulture Gyps coprotheres based on head morphometrics

The Cape Vulture Gyps coprotheres is considered sexually monomorphic in the literature, but visual differences in head shape between the sexes have been observed. Furthermore, head morphometrics of other Gyps species show statistically significant variation between the sexes. We show that head morphometrics can be used to determine the sex of Cape Vultures. Males generally have wider and shorter heads, and larger bill depths than females. Discriminant function analysis with data from 63 individuals identified the three most predictive variables in sex determination to be head width, head length and bill depth. We also provide an equation that can be used in conjunction with head measurements as a method to determine the sex of Cape Vultures in the field with an overall accuracy of 84% (92% accuracy for females and 72% for males).     

On the sexual dimorphism in the skull of the tiger (Panthera tigris)

Sexual dimorphism in the skull of the tiger (Panthera tigris) is reviewed and described in detail. The most significant diagnostic differences between the sexes are absolute length of the cranium, breadth of interorbital region and muzzle, zygomatic arch, and occipital region, length of upper carnassial, and the degree of the development of the cranial prominences. The degree of sexual dimorphism is closely related to geographic variation, and its form is rather complex.     

Life history of a basal bird: morphometrics of the Early Cretaceous Confuciusornis

Confuciusornis sanctus stands out among the remarkable diversity of Mesozoic birds recently unearthed from China. Not only is this primitive beaked pygostylian (birds with abbreviated caudal vertebrae fused into a pygostyle) much more abundant than other avian taxa of this age but differences in plumage between specimens--some having a pair of long stiff tail feathers--have been interpreted as evidence for the earliest example of sexual dimorphism in birds. We report the results of a multivariate morphometric study involving measurements of more than 100 skeletons of C. sanctus. Our analyses do not show any correlation between size distribution and the presence or absence of blade-like rectrices (tail feathers), thus implying, that if these feathers are sexual characters, they are not correlated with sexual size dimorphism. Our results also provide insights into the taxonomy and life history of confuciusornithids, suggesting that these birds may have retained ancestral dinosaurian growth patterns characterized by a midlife exponential growth stage.     

太行山猕猴髋臼性别二态性研究

本文使用几何形态测量法探讨42例成年太行山猕猴Macaca mulatta tcheliensis髋臼的性别二态性。结果显示,太行山猕猴雌雄个体的髋臼形态具有明显的性别二态性,利用髋臼可以正确判别92.3%的雌性和87.5%的雄性个体。髋臼的形态差异主要分布于月状面的后上部,即与髋臼切迹相对的月状面区域的宽度表现为雄性大于雌性,另外雄性髋臼大小的波动范围也比雌性更广。造成髋臼性别二态性的生物学原因可能与其功能有关,髋臼作为髋关节的组成部分,起着支撑身体和协同运动的功能,能够优化关节接触面的压力分布。推测雄性髋臼受到的体质量压力更大可能是雄性进化出比雌性更宽大的月状面的主要原因。     

Group size and group composition of the mona monkey (Cercopithecus mona) on the Island of Grenada,West Indies

Cercopithecus, the genus of guenons, is the largest of the African primate genera, and yet more than half of the species belonging to this group have never been the focus of a long-term field study. In this paper, I present data on group size and composition for a previously unstudied population of guenons on the Caribbean island of Grenada. The mona monkey, Cercopithecus mona, was introduced to Grenada from Africa approximately 200–300 years ago. Two types of social groups were found for Cercopithecus mona on Grenada: all-male groups consisting of two to four individuals and bisexual groups containing 5–32 individuals. All-male groups of Grenada mona monkeys contained any combination of juveniles, subadults, and/or adults. All-male groups were a common occurrence on Grenada but have never been reported for African C. mona and have been reported only in two other forest Cercopithecusspecies. Bisexual groups appeared to consist of one adult male, one to six adult females, subadult females, and juveniles and infants of both sexes. Even though no more than one adult male was ever seen in each bisexual group of monas on Grenada, other males were heard giving copulation calls simultaneously with resident adult male loud calls, suggesting that other males occasionally infiltrate bisexual groups. Am. J. Primatol. 43:167–173, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

The oestrogen pathway underlies the evolution of exaggerated male cranial shapes in Anolis lizards

Sexual dimorphisms vary widely among species. This variation must arise through sex-specific evolutionary modifications to developmental processes. Anolis lizards vary extensively in their expression of cranial dimorphism. Compared with other Anolis species, members of the carolinensis clade have evolved relatively high levels of cranial dimorphism; males of this clade have exceptionally long faces relative to conspecific females. Developmentally, this facial length dimorphism arises through an evolutionarily novel, clade-specific strategy. Our analyses herein reveal that sex-specific regulation of the oestrogen pathway underlies evolution of this exaggerated male phenotype, rather than the androgen or insulin growth factor pathways that have long been considered the primary regulators of male-biased dimorphism among vertebrates. Our results suggest greater intricacy in the genetic mechanisms that underlie sexual dimorphisms than previously appreciated.     

Differences in the 2nd to 4th digit length ratio in humans reflect shifts along the common allometric line

Ratios often lead to biased conclusions concerning the actual relationships between examined traits and comparisons of the relative size of traits among groups. Therefore, the use of ratios has been abandoned in most comparative studies. However, ratios such as body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio are widely used in evolutionary biology and medicine. One such, the ratio of the 2nd to the 4th finger (2D : 4D), has been the subject of much recent interest in both humans and animals. Most studies agree that 2D : 4D is sexually dimorphic. In men, the 2nd digit tends to be shorter than the 4th, while in women the 2nd digit tends to be of the same size or slightly longer than the 4th. Nevertheless, here we demonstrate that the sexes do not greatly differ in the scaling between the 2nd and 4th digit. Sexual differences in 2D : 4D are mainly caused by the shift along the common allometric line with non-zero intercept, which means 2D : 4D necessarily decreases with increasing finger length, and the fact that men have longer fingers than women. We conclude that previously published results on the 2D : 4D ratio are biased by its covariation with finger length. We strongly recommend regression-based approaches for comparisons of hand shape among different groups.     

基于几何形态测量学的黄蜻翅的雌雄二态性研究

【目的】本研究运用几何形态测量学方法对黄蜻Pantala flavescens Fabricius前翅和后翅的雌雄二态性进行分析,探讨黄蜻雌雄性在翅上的形态差异。【方法】通过对黄蜻的前翅和后翅做数字化标点,获得翅的形态信息。经主成分分析(PCA)和薄片样条法(TPS)获得雌雄性在翅型和翅脉上的差异性。【结果】PCA结果表明,黄蜻雌雄性的前翅和后翅在翅型、翅脉结构上存在着明显差异,而且后翅间的差异更大。经TPS分析可知,雌雄性黄蜻前翅上的差异部位主要发生在亚翅结和三角室,后翅的差异部位主要发生在亚翅结、肘脉域和臀角区域。对黄蜻前后翅的大小分析(CS)可知,雌性黄蜻前后翅较大,雄性黄蜻前后翅较小。【结论】黄蜻雌雄性间的翅型结构差异性表明雌雄性在其各自生活史中履行不同的职责,特定的飞行模式逐渐形成特定的翅型、翅脉结构。