Sexual Dimorphism and Female Reproductive Characteristics in the Hainan Water Skink(Tropidophorus hainanus)from Hainan,South China  

作　　者：Yu DU Xiaming ZHU Chixian LIN 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 [3]Institute for Eco-environmental Research of Sanyang Wetland,Wenzhou University,Wenzhou 325014,Zhejiang,China

出　　处：《Asian Herpetological Research》2024年第1期49-58,共10页亚洲两栖爬行动物研究（英文版）

基　　金：supported by grants from the Special Foundation for Basic Work of the Science and Technology Ministry of China (2022FY100500-2);National Natural Science Foundation of China (31470471);Hainan Key Program of Science and Technology (ZDXM20110008);Hainan Specially Supporting Discipline of Zoology;Wenzhou Ecological Park Research Project。

摘　　要：We studied sexual dimorphism in body size and shape and female reproductive characteristics in the Hainan Water Skink(Tropidophorus hainanus)from Hainan,South China.In our sample the largest female and male were 61.1 and 55.2 mm snout-vent length(SVL),respectively.The mean SVL was larger in adult females(52.0 mm)than in adult males(48.3 mm).Juveniles were sexually dimorphic in head length but not in other examined morphological variables.Adult males were longer in head length and shorter in abdomen length and fore-limb length than adult females of the same SVL.Ontogenetic shifts in sexual dimorphism in body shape were evident,as revealed by the fact that morphological differences between the sexes were more pronounced in adults than in juveniles.Females produced a single litter of 3–6 offspring per season from early August to early September.Litter size,litter mass and offspring(neonate)mass were positively related to female SVL.Neonate mass was independent of relative fecundity.From the above findings we draw three main conclusions.First,females are the larger sex in T.hainanus,and sexual dimorphism in body shape is more pronounced in adults than in juveniles.Second,larger female T.hainanus produce more and larger offspring and thus heavier litters than smaller ones.Third,the offspring size-number trade-off does is not evident in T.hainanus.

关 键 词：FECUNDITY morphology offspring size-number trade-off REPRODUCTION SCINCIDAE sexual dimorphism 

分 类 号：Q958[生物学—动物学]