Abstract
Ontogenetic color change in animals is an interesting evolution-related
phenomenon that has been studied by evolutionary biologists for decades.
However, the performance of quantitative and continuous color
measurements throughout the life cycle of animals is a challenge. To
understand the rhythm of change in tail color and sexual dichromatism,
we used a spectrometer to measure the tail color of blue-tailed skink
(Plestiodon elegans) from birth to sexual maturity. Lab color space was
selected due to its simple, fast, and accurate and depends on the visual
sense of the observer for measuring the tail color of skinks. A strong
relationship was observed between color indexes (values of L*, a*, b*)
and growth time of skink. The luminance of tail color decreased from
juveniles to adults in both sexes. Moreover, we observed differences in
color rhythms between the sexes, which may be influenced by different
behavioral strategies employed by them. This study provides continuous
measurements of change in tail color in skinks from juveniles to adults
and offers insights into their sex-based differences. Our findings
explain the potential factors that drive dichromatism between the sexes
of lizards and is expected to serve as a reference for future studies
that explore possible mechanisms of ontogenetic color change in
reptiles.