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Turkish Journal of Zoology

DOI

10.55730/1300-0179.3174

Abstract

Sexual dimorphism has been established as one of the important evolutionary results in the process of sexual selection between males and females of different species. Distinct morphological features between males and females can also be seen in reptiles. Lizards of the genus Darevskia show sexual dimorphism, as Darevskia schaekeli was studied as an example. The morphological traits investigated between males and females of this species showed that head length, trunk length, length of forelimbs and hindlimbs as well as the number of femoral pores are more in males than in females. All these morphological traits, which were more in males than in females, play an important role in their mating and reproduction process. The beginning of the mating process in this species begins with the male biting the head of the female, and then he restrains the female by the hindlimbs and puts the edges of the cloaca to rotate the body in front of the cloaca of the female. Greater body length and hind limb are important assistant for this process. The dorsal and lateral color pattern of the body is also observed in the mating season (spring) in males, which is much more diverse and prominent than in females, which indicates a kind of sexual selection in this species.

Keywords

breeding season, courtship, Elburz Mountains, Rock lizard, Sexual selection

First Page

198

Last Page

202

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