Sexual Dimorphism,Female Reproductive Characteristics and Embryonic Thermosensitivity in the Tonkin Forest Skink(Sphenomorphus tonkinensis)from Hainan,South China  

作　　者：Yu DU Chixian LIN Xiaming ZHU Yuntao YAO Xiang JI 

机构地区：[1]Hainan Key Laboratory for Herpetological Research,College of Fisheries and Life Sciences,Hainan Tropical Ocean University,Sanya 572022,Hainan,China [2]Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Water Environment and Marine Biological Resources Protection,College of Life and Environmental Sciences,Wenzhou University,Wenzhou 325035,Zhejiang,China

出　　处：《Asian Herpetological Research》2023年第4期271-279,共9页亚洲两栖爬行动物研究（英文版）

基　　金：This work was supported by grants from the Special Foundation for Basic Work of the Science and Technology Ministry of China(2022FY100500-2);Hainan Key Program of Science and Technology(ZDXM20110008);Hainan Specially Supporting Discipline of Zoology。

摘　　要：We collected 75 adult Tonkin forest skinks(Sphenomorphus tonkinensis) from Hainan, South China and incubated eggs at four constant temperatures ranging from 22 ℃ to 28 ℃ to study sexual dimorphism, female reproductive characteristics and embryonic thermosensitivity. The largest male was 53.4 mm snout-vent length(SVL), and the largest female was 54.3 mm SVL. The mean SVL was slightly greater in adult females(49.9 mm) than in adult males(48.8 mm), but the difference was not significant.Head length, head width, fore-limb length and hindlimb length were longer in adult males and abdomen length was longer in adult females after accounting for SVL. Accordingly, we conclude that S. tonkinensis is basically a sexually size-monomorphic species with sexual dimorphism in head size, abdomen(trunk)length and limb size. Females laid up to two clutches of 1–4 eggs each per egg-laying season from February to May. Egg mass, clutch size and clutch mass were independent of female SVL. Embryonic stages at laying varied from Dufaure and Hubert’s stage 30 to 31. With female SVL held constant, the negative correlation between egg mass and clutch size was not significant, suggesting that the offspring(egg) sizenumber trade-off between is not evident or eggs are well optimized for size in S. tonkinensis. None of the eggs at 28 ℃ hatched;hatching success was lower at 22 ℃ than at 24 ℃ or 26 ℃. The mean incubation length was 52.9 d at 22 ℃, 40.4 d at 24 ℃ and 33.6 d at 26 ℃. Hatchlings from eggs incubated at 22 ℃,24 ℃ and 26 ℃ did not differ morphologically at hatching, suggesting that temperatures within this range do not differentially affect hatchling morphology in S. tonkinensis.

关 键 词：egg hatching success hatchling morphology incubation length reproduction SCINCIDAE sexual dimorphism 

分 类 号：Q958[生物学—动物学]