Little if any role of male gonadal androgens in ontogeny of sexual dimorphism in body size and cranial casque in chameleons.

ABSTRACT: Proximate control of the development of sexual dimorphism is still hotly debated in reptiles. In some squamates, many male-typical exaggerated traits including body size were assumed to be controlled by masculinization by male gonadal androgens. We performed a manipulative experiment to test the importance of this mechanism in the development of pronounced sexual differences in body size and size of head casque in the chameleon Chamaeleo calyptratus. Castrated males attained male-typical body size highly deviating from the body size of control females. Ontogenetic allometries of casque size on head length revealed that sexes depart considerably in casque growth later in the ontogeny; however, castrated males still follow male-typical casque growth. Paradoxically, exogenous testosterone led

SUBMITTER: Bauerova A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7021717 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature