Disambiguation Links – Sexual Dimorphism (C/N)
In animals, there is a phenotypic difference between the males and females of the same species in size, ornamentation, morphology, and behavior which is called sexual dimorphism. Some of the most prominent examples in modern animals are brighter plumage, scales, skin, or fur in males because the males of the species are the ones which need a bright, colorful appearance to attract a mate; greater size in males because a stronger male is more likely to win out over another and earn a mate; and additional ornamentation, also in males, which are similarly used in mating displays or serve some other purpose. In some animals, the female is notably the larger and more dominant of the species, such as in the angler fish in which the female forms the main body while the male essentially fuses onto her and only serves reproductive functions.
Sexual dimorphism is also present in several of the dinosaur species cloned by InGen. In most of these species, the differences between genders are largely in terms of their coloration, with the males typically being brighter in color while the females are usually drabber greens or browns. A notable exception is in the V. a. sornaensis subspecies of Velociraptor, in which the males not only have brighter colors but also have more prominent ridges on their noses and quills at the backs of their skulls. In some other species, sexual dimorphism is doubly present: in the Tyrannosaurus, the male has green coloration, though the drabber brown female is actually larger than the male. However, in the Pteranodon hippocratesi, it is the reverse: the male is not only more brightly colored but also much larger than the female.
