Intrauterine position effects on sexually dimorphic asymmetries of Mongolian gerbils: Testosterone, eye opening, and paw preference

A series of experiments was undertaken to both discover and explore the causes of sexually dimorphic phenotypic asymmetries in infant and adult Mongolian gerbils. We found that (1) the order in which the eyes of individual gerbil pups opened varied with their gender; right eyes of female pups opened before left eyes, while left eyes of male pups opened before right eyes, and (2) the paw that adult gerbils held in the air while maintaining a …