Impact of heat and sex on embryonic brain growth in dragons with temperature induced sex-reversal (Pogona vitticeps, Lacertilia: Agamidae)

Telencephalic forebrain region size is significantly larger in central bearded dragons with ZZ genotypes (males and sex-reversed females) than in concordant ZW females.

• Why it matters: Climate warming can alter sex determination and embryonic growth in temperature-dependent reptiles, potentially harming metabolically expensive brain development when heat outpaces oxygen supply.
• What they did: Embryos (57 total) were incubated at 28C (n = 26) or 36C (n = 21) and scanned with buffered Lugols iodine using contrast-enhanced microCT and synchrotron phase-contrast CT to model neuroanatomy.
• The result: Incubation temperature significantly affected growth rate and body size, but overall brain size did not significantly differ between cool and warm treatments, suggesting genotypic sex dominates brain development.

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