Abstract
The chapter describes the traits, which determine male reproductive success in reptiles, and ongoing sexual selection on such traits arising from variance in mating success. It also investigates which of these traits and selective events of reptiles qualify as particularly suitable research models. It exemplifies the factors that determine the outcome of contests between males over sexual partners, and how females influence the outcome of male reproductive success by selecting a mating choice. The morphology of copulatory organs, time in coitus, and testis size may covary within, and differ between, reptilian groups. However, major importance for a male's probability of paternity, is how spermatozoa survive during prolonged storage in the female reproductive tract, and to what extent the seminal products and the chemical compounds produced by the female influence the motility of his spermatozoa within the female reproductive tract. In mammals, the intrauterine transport of semen may be rapid (minutes) and the ovulation occurs within hours or days, whereas in reptiles this transport is relatively slow and ovulation may not follow until weeks later.
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