Meeting Abstract

P2.92  Friday, Jan. 4  Harderian gland size is sexually dimorphic and correlated with vomeronasal size in a terrestrial plethodontid salamander, Plethodon shermani TRAN, Tien; RICCIARDELLA, Lauren F.; WOODLEY, Sarah K*; Duquesne University woodleys@duq.edu

The Harderian gland is associated with the orbit of the eye and is found in many vertebrate species. The Harderian gland has been hypothesized to function in lubrication of the eye, pheromone production, or pheromone detection. In the terrestrial salamander, Plethodon shermani, a large gland is located above the nasal cavity, anterior to the eye, suggesting that it is the Harderian gland. We found that the volume of this gland was larger in adult males than adult females, even though males are slightly smaller in average body size. Furthermore, Harderian gland volume was strongly positively correlated with the volume of the vomeronasal organ (VNO). In juveniles, Harderian gland volume did not differ between males and females and was not correlated with VNO volume. These data suggest that the Harderian gland may contribute to sex differences in vomeronasal function in adults. In a species of semi-aquatic salamander, Desmognathus ochrophaeus, the Harderian gland is relatively small and is not sexually dimorphic, indicating that there may be species differences in the function of the Harderian gland.