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Abstract
Male genitalia show considerable morphological variation among animals with internal fertilization and exhibit a high level of evolvability in lizards. Studies have suggested that sexual selection may be driving hemipenial evolution against natural selection and pleiotropy. Given the direct interaction of male and female genitals, coevolution of the aforementioned is posited by several hypotheses of genital evolution. However, there are only a few studies on female genitalia morphology, resulting in a lack of coevolution description and understanding. Studies of allometric patterns have filled some gaps by answering questions about male genital evolution and could prove a powerful tool in clarifying coevolution between male and female genitals. Here, we studied the genital morphology of Tropidurus torquatus. This Tropidurus lizard species is an emerging Neotropical lizard model organism notable for having enlarged hemipenial lobes in contrast with other tropidurid species. In this study, we analyzed hemipenial development in early and late stages, describing both morphological variation and ontogenetic allometric pattern. We used quantitative traits to describe male and female genital morphology, examining their static allometric patterns and correspondence. Our study provides a quantitative discussion on the evolution of lizard genitals, suggesting that sexual selection plays an important role in genital evolution in Tropidurus lizards.
Highlights
Snake and lizard species (Squamata) possess a pair of intromittent male reproductive organs, called hemipenes
Two pairs of bulbs located ventromedially in the cloacal region arise from the genital swelling at the 6 days postoviposition (DPO) (Fig 2C)
By DPO, the posterior bulbs develop into distinct genital primordia, whereas anterior bulbs further develop into the anterior cloacal lip, by to DPO, being totally fused by DPO (Fig 2E and 2F)
Summary
Snake and lizard species (Squamata) possess a pair of intromittent male reproductive organs, called hemipenes. These organs are known to show considerable variation in shape, dimensions, ornamentation, and are often more divergent than non-genital traits [1,2,3,4]. Male-female genital morphology, allometry and coevolution in Tropidurus torquatus hemipenis as a key taxonomic and phylogenetic character [5,6,7,8]. Little is known about how hemipenis morphological complexity and ornamentation are driven by developmental processes [11]
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