Vol. 12 No. 1 (2017)
Short Note

Evidence for directional testes asymmetry in <em>Hyla gongshanensis jindongensis</em>

Published 2017-06-30

How to Cite

Gui Wu, Q., & Liao, W. B. (2017). Evidence for directional testes asymmetry in <em>Hyla gongshanensis jindongensis</em>. Acta Herpetologica, 12(1), 89–93. https://doi.org/10.13128/Acta_Herpetol-17902

Abstract

The compensation hypothesis predicts that one testis may grow more for compensating for a reduced function in the other testis, thus exhibiting a directional asymmetry in testis size. In this study, we tested the prediction of the compensation hypothesis in the Chinese endemic Tree Frog Hyla gongshanensis jingdongensis in a population in Kegong Reserve site of Yunan Province in western China. For fifty-three male samplings, we found that the left testis size was significantly bigger than the right testis, which exhibited a significantly directional testis asymmetry, consistent with the evidence that mainly the left testis is functional with the right testis having a compensatory role, i.e. the left testis would increase in size if the right testis became non-functional. However, the relative testes size and the degree of testes asymmetry were not correlated with body condition in this species, suggesting that the testes asymmetry can not reflect male quality: high-quality individuals would not have more asymmetric testes. 

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