Sexual dimorphism and allometry in primate ossa coxae

Abstract Five measurements were taken on the ossa coxae of 454 adult primates representing Ceboidea, Cercopithecoidea and Hominoidea. Sex differences in these variables and their relationships to overall body size and sexual dimorphism were tested by means of Student's t‐test and regression analysis. The study attempts to clarify the nature of primate pelvic sexual dimorphism, including allometric effects, and more specifically, test the assertion made by Mobb and Wood (1977) that sexual dimorphism in body size in not an important determinant in pelvic sex differences. Variables that contribute to the size of the birth canal tend to be larger in females than males in all taxa studied except two. In these, Hylobates and Alouatta , there were no significant differences between the sexes for any of the five variables. In general, sexual dimorphism in variables contributing to the size of the birth canal was correlated (r ≃ 0.8) with sexual dimorphism in body size. Furthermore, the coefficients of allometry underlying pelvic sex differences were shown to be moderately correlated (r ≃ 0.5) with sexual dimorphism in size. The influence of other adaptive factors on primate pelvic sexual dimorphism are also briefly discussed.