Data from: Evidence of sexual dimorphism in skeletal morphology of a gonochoric reef coral

In the emerald coral Porites panamensis, the rates of elongation and calcification of colonies are higher in males than in females, probably because of the higher energetic demands of the latter in order to cope with the development of the large planulae produced throughout the year. This differing energetic demand could also be reflected in the sexual dimorphism of the calyces, so, to test this hypothesis, 11 morphological traits of the corallite were assessed from 63 colonies that were collected in the southern Gulf of California, Mexico. Three traits showed statistical differences between sexes, enabling accurate distinction of males from females. Our results confirm for the first time the existence of external sexual dimorphism in a reef-building coral, opening the possibility that sex-related morphological differences may occur generally in gonochoric scleractinians. These findings can be very useful for the correct classification and characterization of recent and fossil records, helping to improve the historical and evolutive understanding of reef-building corals facing threats under environmental changes.

在巴拿马滨珊瑚（Porites panamensis）中，雄性珊瑚群体的伸长速率与钙化速率均高于雌性，这可能是因为雌性个体需满足全年产生的大型浮浪幼虫（planulae）发育所需的更高能量需求。这种能量需求的差异也可能体现在珊瑚杯的性二态性（sexual dimorphism）中，为此我们验证了这一假说：从墨西哥加利福尼亚湾南部采集了63个珊瑚群体，对其11项珊瑚单体（corallite）形态特征进行了评估。结果显示，其中3项特征在雌雄群体间存在统计学差异，可用于准确区分雌雄个体。本研究首次证实造礁珊瑚存在外部性二态性，这表明性别相关的形态差异可能普遍存在于雌雄异体石珊瑚（gonochoric scleractinians）中。上述发现可为现代及化石记录的准确分类与特征描述提供重要参考，有助于深化我们对面临环境变化威胁的造礁珊瑚的历史与演化认知。