How is gender of baby alligator decided?

Question

How is gender of baby alligator decided?

Answer 1

mr0bear is exactly right. Lower temps females, medium range males, higher range females again with more dying at a young age and/or in the egg. Keep in mind, there will be temperature variations within a nest, so unless the eggs are artificially incubated, no nest will end up 100% male or female.

And don't believe the hemipenes thing... yes, all snakes and some lizards have hemipenes, but alligators DO NOT... trust me... 20 years of working with them and having to determine gender... once a gator's 4 feet or so, you simply stick a finger in the vent and feel what you can feel (or not) to determine gender, and they only have one p***s.

Answer 2

The temperature determines the gender of a baby alligator.

The lower temperatures result in more females, higher temps more males, and higher than that, more females again, but with a higher mortality rate.

Answer 3

The male Alligator, like all reptiles, has a hemipenis.  This is actually "two" penises, both coming out of the same ventral slit.  These are "inverted" into the female during mating depending on which "side" the male has wrapped around the female.  The s*x of a reptile can be "accurately" determined by placing a small probe into either side of the vent slit.  If the probe goes in, it's a male.  If it does not, it's a female.

Answer 4

The s*x of the offspring is determined by the temperature in the nest and is fixed within 7 to 21 days of the start of incubation.

----Incubation temperatures of 30 °C (86 °F) or lower produce a clutch of females

----Incubation temperatures of 34 °C (93 °F) or higher produce entirely males.