Sexual Dimorphism in Vertebral Number: Developmental Implications Inferred From Vertebral and Body Proportions
Kazunori Yamahira, V. K. Anoop, Rajeev Raghavan, Yoshitaka Tanaka, Satoshi Ansai · 2026
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Description
Kazunori Yamahira and co-authors report that male and female fish differ in backbone count, in a 2026 study of a ricefish found only in western India. Vertebra number shapes body form across vertebrates, but why the sexes differ is little understood. The fish were collected across a wide range of its home territory and X-rayed.
Backbone count rose with latitude in both sexes, and males always held more vertebrae than females from the same place. After adjusting for size, the gap tied to head size and to how vertebra length varies along the body. In smaller fish, rear vertebrae were shorter in males, which hints at shorter segments in male embryos at the rear axis. Since the sexes share near-identical genes, the authors offer the fish as a rare system for studying how development creates sex differences in body plan.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Kazunori Yamahira, V. K. Anoop, Rajeev Raghavan, Yoshitaka Tanaka, Satoshi Ansai |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 26 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |