There is sexual dimorphism displayed in the physiology of the southern grasshopper mouse as females are heavier and longer than males.
There is sexual dimorphism displayed in the physiology of the southern grasshopper mouse as females are heavier and longer than males.
Measurements of cranial volume of museum specimens of southern grasshopper mouse have shown that on average, females were heavier and longer than males, but their cranial volume was about 3% less than that of males. On average, female southern grasshopper mice are also able to deal with a larger body size without increasing their brain size, when compared to males.
The tail length of southern grasshopper mice museum specimens made up an average of 33.9% of their body length. Their tail length measured an average of 4.58 ± 0.36 centimeters in females, and 4.50 ± 0.39 centimeters in males. Average tail length does not vary greatly between the sexes.
There is still not enough evidence to explain the difference in body size and brain between males and females. It is possible that there are different demands on both sexes, which might contribute to this difference. These studies were also only done in the laboratory, and there might be sex-specific stresses in their natural habitat that influence brain growth. However, sexual dimorphism is quite common and has been observed in the central nervous system of other mammals.
• Image | ©️ Internet Archive Book Images, Public Domain, (CC0 Public Domain)
• Sources | (Mann & Towe, 2003; The Wikimedia Foundation, 2020)
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