Examining the shape and size of female and male genitalia in snakes using three-dimensional geometric morphometrics
Examining the shape and size of female and male genitalia in snakes using three-dimensional geometric morphometrics
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使用三维几何形态测量学检查蛇的雌性和雄性生殖器的形状和大小
DOI：
10.1093/biolinnean/blac051
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发表时间：
2022
影响因子：
1.9
通讯作者：
Brennan, Patricia L. R.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Lara Granados, Genesis;Greenwood, Juliet;Secor, Stephen;Shan, Shan;Hedrick, Brandon P.;Brennan, Patricia L. R.
对雄性和雌性生殖器变异的量化可以帮助我们了解可能的交配相互作用和生殖器多样性的进化。然而，没有研究量化生殖器形状的变化在一个单一的蛇种或检查的形状和大小的阴道袋和hemipenes。在这里，我们研究的形状和大小的生殖器的女性和男性菱纹水蛇，Nerodia rhombifer，使用三维自动化的地标几何形态测量方法的模型的内腔的阴道袋和膨胀的hemipenes，首次应用这些技术的脊椎动物的生殖器形状。阴道袋的形状与体型和生殖状况显著相关。随着雌性变大并开始繁殖，阴道囊变大，变宽并变得更加分叉。在生殖男性中，半烯的形状也与身体大小显著相关。随着雄性的长大，半叉扩大和加宽;它们的分叉变得更加明确，基部的刺变得更加突出。阴道囊和阴茎半侧质心的大小与体长等长。半阴茎和阴道囊的质心大小彼此没有显著差异，因此生殖器大小匹配。生殖的雌性和雄性在生殖器的分叉程度和大小上存在差异。我们证明了三维分析的软组织形状的研究中的效用，并主张其在未来的研究生殖器。
Quantification of genital variation in males and females can inform our understanding of likely copulatory interactions and evolution of genital diversity. However, no studies have quantified genital shape variation within a single snake species or examined the shape and size of both the vaginal pouch and hemipenes. Here, we examine the shape and size of the genitalia of female and male diamondback water snakes,Nerodia rhombifer, using a three-dimensional automated landmark geometric morphometric approach on models of the lumen of the vaginal pouch and inflated hemipenes, applying these techniques for the first time to the genital shape of vertebrates. Vaginal pouch shape is significantly associated with body size and reproductive status. As females grow larger and become reproductive, the vaginal pouch enlarges, widens and becomes more bifurcated. In reproductive males, the shape of the hemipenes is also significantly associated with body size. As males grow larger, the hemipenes enlarge and widen; their bifurcation becomes more defined and the spines at the base become more prominent. Vaginal pouch and hemipenial centroid size are isometric with respect to body length. The centroid sizes of the hemipenes and vaginal pouch are not significantly different from one another, hence the genitalia match in size. Reproductive females and males covary in the degree of bifurcation and size of their genitalia. We demonstrate the utility of three-dimensional analysis in studies of the shape of soft tissues and advocate its use in future studies of genitalia.