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Spots Of Adult Male Red-Spotted Newts Are Redder And Brighter Than In Females: Evidence For A Role In Mate Selection?, Andrew K. Davis, Kristine L. Grayson
Spots Of Adult Male Red-Spotted Newts Are Redder And Brighter Than In Females: Evidence For A Role In Mate Selection?, Andrew K. Davis, Kristine L. Grayson
Biology Faculty Publications
As aquatic adults, eastern red-spotted newts (Notophthalmus v. viridescens) are generally green with two rows of dorsal spots, which vary in number between individuals and range in colour from orange to red. The function of these spots is unknown, but it is possible that they serve as sexual ornamentations and we examined this hypothesis by testing for sexual dimorphism in spot characteristics. We used an image analysis approach that has been used previously with this and other amphibian species to compare the number, size and colour – redness (hue score) and brightness – of spots in 100 male …