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Asymmetry in Reptiles: What Do We Know So Far?

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Abstract

Developmental disturbances in organisms may lead to subtle deviations from symmetry. Fluctuating asymmetry is the most commonly used measure of developmental instability, and it may be related to fitness. Knowledge of developmental instability in reptiles is incipient and with important gaps since there are few studies on asymmetry on this group. In this review, we quantified and analysed trends of reptiles’ asymmetry in the literature. We used keyword searches at Web of Science and Scopus to identify the available papers on asymmetry in reptiles published until 2012. After screening, 60 papers encompassing asymmetry investigations in reptiles were identified. The number of publications increased in the last two decades and lizards were the most studied group. There were no studies from South America and very few from Africa. Most studies involved the use of only meristic traits for asymmetry analysis and found evidence for fluctuating asymmetry. Some studies did not support the relationship between fluctuating asymmetry as the result of developmental instability and environmental and genetic stress, but most findings indicated that (a) females tend to select males with symmetrical sexual traits; (b) thermal instability during egg development produce individuals with a higher incidence of asymmetry; (c) occurrence of injuries is more frequent in asymmetrical individuals for a particular side; (d) there is a negative correlation between asymmetry and locomotor performance. A summary of the available information and a brief discussion about some asymmetric relationships are presented.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Paula C. Eterovick, Mara C. Kiefer, Gisele R. Winck, and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful suggestions and comments on the manuscript. We also thank Márcio C. Zikán for English review. RCL received grants from Conselho Nacional do Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) (Process 141889/2012-5), and CFDR received grants from CNPq (Processes 304791/2010-5 and 472287/2010-8) and from Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ) (Process E-26/102.765/2012) through the “Programa Cientistas do Nosso Estado”.

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  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Evolução, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rua São Francisco Xavier, 524, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP 20550-900, Brazil

    Rafael C. Laia

  2. Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil

    Míriam P. Pinto

  3. Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Vanderlaine A. Menezes & Carlos Frederico D. Rocha

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  1. Rafael C. Laia
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Correspondence to Rafael C. Laia.

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Laia, R.C., Pinto, M.P., Menezes, V.A. et al. Asymmetry in Reptiles: What Do We Know So Far?. Springer Science Reviews 3, 13–26 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40362-014-0028-9

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