EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -TSD is observed in many fish, all crocodilians, many turtles, and lizards. Sex in reptiles is determined by the temperature of the egg halfway through embryogenesis (Crews, 1993).

Detailed explanation-2: -Research shows that if a turtle’s eggs incubate below 27.7° Celsius (81.86° Fahrenheit), the turtle hatchlings will be male. If the eggs incubate above 31° Celsius (88.8° Fahrenheit), however, the hatchlings will be female.

Detailed explanation-3: -In crocodilians the temperature of egg incubation is the environmental factor determining sex. If the temperature is cool, around 30 °C, the hatchlings are all female. Warmer temperatures, around 34 °C, hatch all males.

Detailed explanation-4: -The thermosensitive period (TSP; the period when sex is labile) [13] occurs approximately in the middle third of embryonic development. During this time, warmer temperatures produce females, cooler temperatures produce males and a narrow range of temperatures produces both sexes.

Detailed explanation-5: -Temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD), where the temperature of the embryo’s environment influences its sex development, is a widespread non-genetic process of sex determination among vertebrates, including reptiles. All crocodilians, most turtles, many fish, and some lizards exhibit TSD.