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The Genetic Basis Of Baculum Size And Shape Variation In Mice, Nicholas G. Schultz, Jesse Ingels, Andrew Hillhouse, Keegan Wardwell, Peter L. Chang, James M. Cheverud, Cathleen Lutz, Lu Lu, Robert W. Williams, Matthew D. Dean

James Cheverud

The rapid divergence of male genitalia is a preeminent evolutionary pattern. This rapid divergence is especially striking in the baculum, a bone that occurs in the penis of many mammalian species. Closely related species often display diverse baculum morphology where no other morphological differences can be discerned. While this fundamental pattern of evolution has been appreciated at the level of gross morphology, nearly nothing is known about the genetic basis of size and shape divergence. Quantifying the genetic basis of baculum size and shape variation has been difficult because these structures generally lack obvious landmarks, so comparing them in three …