Summary
Relatively few studies have been conducted on sexual dimorphism in Diploderma species, although previous studies suggested that male-biased sexual dimorphism was the dominant pattern in the genus (Kuo et al., 2009; Xiong et al., 2022). In the present study, D. batangense showed male-biased sexual dimorphism in morphology and bite force, consistent with the sexual selection hypothesis. Furthermore, the best predictors of bite force differed between the sexes (ML in males and HW in females). However, it remains unclear how the intrinsic skull and muscle structures affect bite force in this species. As such, further anatomical analysis of the head structure is required, together with intraspecific (sex) comparisons of body color, behavior, and resource use (diet and microhabitat). In addition, given the high diversity of species and habitats in the genus, further study on interspecific differences in bite force among species in different habitats is necessary.