Friday, Jul 24, 2026 The claims desk. Receipts included. POWERED BY LENZ
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SCIENCE

The Claim

Testosterone is the principal endocrine mechanism by which sexual selection translates into morphological sexual dimorphism.

The Short Version

The evidence shows testosterone is an important and often central hormonal mediator of sexually selected, male-typical morphology in many vertebrates. But the claim goes too far by presenting it as the principal endocrine mechanism in general. Credible sources show multiple alternative hormonal pathways and taxon-specific exceptions, so the broad formulation is only partly supported.

Caveats

  • The claim overgeneralizes from well-studied vertebrates, especially birds and mammals, to sexual dimorphism broadly.
  • 'Principal mechanism' is not clearly defined or quantified, making a strong general claim hard to justify.
  • Other endocrine pathways, including estrogen-related and non-androgen-dependent mechanisms, materially limit the claim's scope.

The Receipts

  1. Sexual dimorphism through androgen signaling

    Frontiers in Endocrinology

  2. Testosterone in Females: Mediator of Adaptive Traits, Constraint on Sexual Dimorphism, or Both?

    University of Chicago Press

  3. Hormonal Influences on Sexual Dimorphism

    NCBI Bookshelf

  4. Mate Choice, Sexual Selection, and Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals

    PubMed Central

  5. Testosterone activates sexual dimorphism including male-typical carotenoid but not melanin plumage pigmentation in a female bird

    PubMed

  6. A Role for Hormones in Mediating Sexual Dimorphism and Conflict

    PLOS ONE

  7. Hormonal basis of sexual dimorphism in birds

    ScienceDirect

  8. Sexual Size Dimorphism Correlates With the Number of Androgen Response Elements Across 268 Mammal Species

    PubMed Central

  9. Physiology, Testosterone

    StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf

  10. Male-to-female testosterone ratios, dimorphism, and life history in birds and fish: a comparative study

    Behavioral Ecology

+ 18 more sources — see the full list on Lenz

Filed Under

Morphological Sexual DimorphismSexual Selectiontestosterone

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