title: Sexual dimorphism of craniomandibular size in the Korean water deer, Hydropotes inermis argyropus.
abstract: Sexual dimorphism in the craniomandibular traits in the Korean water deer Hydropotes inermis argyropus was examined for the first time. Multivariate analyses using only cranial traits showed a clear separation between sexes. However, the separation was not obvious in the discriminant analysis using only mandibular traits. The most clearly dimorphic trait was in the incisive bone breadth, which was about 12% larger in males. The incisive bone width reflects the characteristically large canines in male. In contrast to this, most of the cranial measurements, except for the incisive breadth, were larger in female, indicating a larger overall skull size. Given that males are generally larger than females, this sexually dimorphic pattern is unique among mammals. We propose that factors, for example, a unique parental care, have influenced the larger skull size in the females of this species.
authors.affiliation: Conservation Genome Resource Bank for Korean Wildlife (CGRB), Research Institute for Veterinary Science, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Korea.
authors.forename: Yung Kun
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Koyabu
authors.forename: Hang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Junpei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kimura
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003670:Deer / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008334:Mandible / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D009929:Organ Size; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D056910:Republic of Korea; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012886:Skull / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D013045:Species Specificity