Sexual Dimorphism and Age Structure in a Population of Tylototriton verrucosus (Amphibia: Salamandridae) from the Himalayan Region

Seglie, Daniele; Roy, Debjani; Giacoma, Cristina

doi:10.1643/cg-08-218

Cited by 18 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…As Romano and Ficetola () already demonstrated differences in body size along the distributional range of S. perspicillata we cannot rule out the possibility that differences in shape also occur. Most studies on salamanders revealed wider heads in males (Bakkegard & Guyer, ; Fontenot & Seigel, ; Marvin, ) rather than in females (Seglie et al, ). From a few observations, it is known that male spectacled salamanders sometimes face agonistic behavior (Utzeri, Antonelli, & Angelini, ; Zuffi, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, this analysis does not correctly scale character dimensions in relation to the entire body architecture (BA). The traditional trait characterizing body size in salamanders, and also in lizards, is SVL (Kupfer, ; Reinhard & Kupfer, ; Seglie, Roy, & Giacoma, ). Kratochvíl, Fokt, Rehák, and Frynta () determined that scaling for size by one, often sexually dimorphic character, is not adequate.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Flesh and bone: An integrative approach towards sexual size dimorphism of a terrestrial salamander (genus Salamandrina)

Pogoda

Kupfer

2018

Journal of Morphology

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Males and females face different selection pressures due to a sexually biased investment into reproduction. This often results in different morphologies. Sexual size dimorphisms (SSD) can give us important hints on the evolution and biology of a species. Salamanders are a perfectly suited system for investigating SSD, including a diversity of reproductive modes and behaviors, and patterns of SSD combined with life history traits in a phylogenetic context help us to understand the evolution of these processes. Because spectacled salamanders (genus Salamandrina) are the phylogenetically most basal taxon of the Salamandridae, they play a key role in reconstructing the evolutionary pattern of SSD. Combining extensive external and skeletal measurements of the cranium, limbs, and the pelvic girdle using high-resolution micro Computer Tomography (μCT) yielded an integrative analysis of expressed SSD of morphology and osteology of Salamandrina perspicillata. Multivariate analysis of external characters showed that males generally had larger cloacae, heads, and limbs relative to body size, while females had larger trunks. Analysis of osteology confirmed this pattern but also revealed new dimorphic characters in the cranium and the pelvic girdle. Dimorphic characters in external morphology and osteology are likely linked to the different reproductive roles of the sexes and support sexual rather than ecological selection as the primary force acting on the phenotype of the phylogenetically basal salamandrids.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flesh and bone: An integrative approach towards sexual size dimorphism of a terrestrial salamander (genus Salamandrina)

Pogoda

Kupfer

2018

Journal of Morphology

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“…The Richards Spur locality represents a local topographic high (Donovan, ), rather than a high‐elevation environment like in the Saar‐Nahe Basin. Furthermore, among extant lissamphibians, double LAGs can occur (albeit more rarely) at relatively low altitudes (e.g., Guarino, Lunardi, Carlomagno, & Mazzotti, ; Miaud, Joly, & Castanet, ) and double LAGs do not always occur in individuals living in upland or high‐elevation environments (e.g., Eden, Whiteman, Duobinis‐Gray, & Wissinger, ; Esteban, Sánchez‐Herráiz, Barbadillo, & Castanet, ; Seglie, Roy, & Giacoma, ). Lastly, it has been alternatively suggested that the double LAG pattern observed in Apateon might actually be related to fluctuations in salinity if the Saar‐Nahe Basin was not situated at a high paleoaltitude but was instead with a close connection to marine environments (e.g., Laurin & Soler‐Gijón, ; Schultze, :163, and references therein).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Histological skeletochronology indicates developmental plasticity in the early Permian stem lissamphibian Doleserpeton annectens

Gee

Haridy

Reisz

2020

Ecology and Evolution

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Doleserpeton annectens is a small‐bodied early Permian amphibamiform, a clade of temnospondyl amphibians regarded by many workers to be on the lissamphibian stem. Most studies of this taxon have focused solely on its anatomy, but further exploration of other aspects of its paleobiology, such as developmental patterns, is critical for a better understanding of the early evolutionary history of lissamphibians. Here, we present a histological analysis of growth patterns in D. annectens that utilizes 60 femora, the largest sample size for any Paleozoic tetrapod. We identified pervasive pairs of closely spaced lines of arrested growth (LAGs), a pattern that indicates a marked degree of climatic harshness and that would result in two cessations of growth within a presumed single year. We documented a wide degree of variation compared to previous temnospondyl skeletochronological studies, reflected in the poor correlation between size and inferred age, but this observation aligns closely with patterns observed in extant lissamphibians. Furthermore, sensitivity analyses conducted by subsampling our dataset at more typical sample sizes for paleontological studies produced a wide range of results. This includes biologically improbable results and exceptionally well‐fit curves that demonstrate that low sample size can produce potentially misleading artifacts. We propose that the weak correlation between age and size represents developmental plasticity in D. annectens that typifies extant lissamphibians. Detection of these patterns is likely only possible with large sample sizes in extinct taxa, and low sample sizes can produce false, misleading results that warrant caution in drawing paleobiological interpretations from such samples.

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“…Age at sexual maturity, longevity and age structure are key demographic parameters that have been investigated in full terrestrial, fossorial, semiaquatic lentic and lotic species (Lima et al, 2000;Marunouchi et al, 2000;Olgun et al, 2001;Bovero et al, 2003;Maletzky et al, 2004;Miaud and Guillaume, 2005;Seglie et al, 2010;Angelini et al, 2015). Among salamandrids, Calotriton newts are two species of stream dwellers, living in the Iberian Peninsula and closely related to the Triturus genus (Carranza and Amat, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual dimorphism and age structure of the Montseny newt (Calotriton arnoldi)

et al. 2015

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Patterns of sexual dimorphism and age structure were investigated in two populations of the newtCalotriton arnoldi, endemic of the Montseny Massif (NE of the Iberian Peninsula). In contrast to the Pyrenean newt (Calotriton asper) sexual dimorphism in the Montseny brook newt is characterized by slightly larger females (60.3 ± 0.3 mm; maximum: 68 mm) than males (59.5 ± 0.2 mm; maximum: 64 mm) and more similar body shape between sexes. Both populations and sexes mature at the same age (3 years), show the same age structure and achieve similar longevity (8-9 years). Comparing our results with the framework of the variation of life-history traits inCalotriton, the Montseny newts exhibit fast sexual maturity and short longevity. Curiously, we have found a lack of covariation between age at sexual maturity, longevity and total body size in the populations ofCalotritonspecies. Only in males, age at sexual maturity seems to be affected by altitude, but in an unexpected way: sexual maturation is delayed in populations at low altitudes. Moreover, the age at sexual maturity does not differs between the populations where immatures are terrestrial vs. those where they remain aquatic. Our results suggest that life-history traits inCalotritonnewts could be determined by selective factors that play their role at small geographic scale.

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Sexual Dimorphism and Age Structure in a Population of Tylototriton verrucosus (Amphibia: Salamandridae) from the Himalayan Region

Cited by 18 publications

References 46 publications

Flesh and bone: An integrative approach towards sexual size dimorphism of a terrestrial salamander (genus Salamandrina)

Flesh and bone: An integrative approach towards sexual size dimorphism of a terrestrial salamander (genus Salamandrina)

Histological skeletochronology indicates developmental plasticity in the early Permian stem lissamphibian Doleserpeton annectens

Sexual dimorphism and age structure of the Montseny newt (Calotriton arnoldi)

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