Wildlife exhibits various sex-determination systems where sex chromosomes and environmental
temperatures may both contribute to individual sexual development. The causes and
consequences of this variability are important questions for evolutionary ecology,
especially in light of ongoing environmental change. Amphibians and reptiles are emerging
as a key group for studying these questions, with new data accumulating acceleratingly.
We collected empirical data from earlier databases, reviews and primary literature
to create the most up-to-date database on herpetological sex determination. We named
our database HerpSexDet, which currently features data on genetic and temperature-dependent
sex determination as well as reports on sex reversal for a total of 192 amphibian
and 697 reptile species. This dataset, which we will regularly update in the future,
facilitates interspecific comparative studies on the evolution of sex determination
and its consequences for species-specific traits such as life history and conservation
status, and may also help guiding future research by identifying species or higher
taxa that are potentially most enlightening for the study of environmentally driven
sex reversal.
