Although both sexes show red tails as juveniles and subadults, only females maintain red colored tails when becoming adult moreover, this coloration is only present at the beginning of female adulthood and becomes white after ovulation, suggesting a mating-related function. We evaluated the role of female coloration on male mate choice decisions in the spiny-footed lizard ( Acanthodactylus erythrurus), a species in which adult females show red coloration as a retained juvenile trait. However, males are increasingly seen to exhibit mate choice for female display traits, even in species with traditional sex roles, although this continues to be an understudied aspect of sexual selection. Female mate choice for male display traits is widely observed across animal taxa and is a well-established mechanism of evolution.
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