Mammalian Sexuality: The Act of Mating and the Evolution of Reproduction
by Alan F. Dixson
June 2021
There are more than 6000 species belonging to twenty-seven orders in the Class Mammalia. Comparative studies of this diverse and magnificent array of extant species provide valuable opportunities to formulate and test hypotheses concerning the evolution of reproduction. This is the first book to explore, in depth and breadth, the complex interrelationships that exist between patterns of mating behaviour and the evolution of mammalian reproductive anatomy and physiology. It focuses upon the role that copulatory and post-copulatory sexual selection have played during the evolution of the monotremes, marsupials and placental mammals, and examines the effects of sperm competition and cryptic female choice upon coevolution of the genitalia in the two sexes. In addition, due weight is also given to discussions of the modes of life of mammals, and to the roles played by natural selection and phylogeny in determining their reproductive traits.
- Provides a clear and comprehensive account of how sexual selection has influenced the evolution of the male reproductive system, including penile morphology, spermatogenesis, sperm morphology and energetics, and the phylogenetic distribution and functions of the accessary reproductive glands
- Examines in detail the various ways in which copulatory courtship and cryptic female choice affect sperm transport, survival and storage within the female reproductive tract
- Contains the largest data set yet assembled on patterns of mammalian mating behaviour, thus making possible a detailed discussion of the role played phylogeny, modes of life, and sexual selection in moulding copulatory patterns in mammals
