{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,23]],"date-time":"2026-07-23T18:26:09Z","timestamp":1784831169160,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"Bioscientifica","issue":"1","content-domain":{"domain":["joe.bioscientifica.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2020,10]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    The spotted hyaena (\n                    <jats:italic>Crocuta crocuta<\/jats:italic>\n                    ) is a unique species, even amongst the Hyaenidae. Extreme clitoral development in female spotted hyaenas challenges aspects of the accepted framework of sexual differentiation and reproductive function. They lack a vulva and instead urinate, copulate and give birth through a single, long urogenital canal that traverses a clitoris superficially resembling a penis. Recent and historical evidence is reviewed to describe our changing understanding of the biology of this species. Expanding upon observations from hyaenas in nature, much has been learned from studies utilising the captive colony at the University of California, Berkeley. The steroid environment of pregnancy is shaped by placental androgen and oestrogen secretion and a late gestational increase in sex hormone binding globulin, the regulated expression and steroid-binding characteristics of which are unique within the Hyaenidae. While initial external genital development is largely free of androgenic influence, the increase in testosterone concentrations in late gestation influences foetal development. Specifically, anti-androgen (AA) treatment of pregnant females reduced the developmental influence of androgens on their foetuses, resulting in reduced androstenedione concentrations in young females and easier birth through a \u2018feminised\u2019 clitoris, but precluded intromission and mating by \u2018feminised\u2019 male offspring, and altered social interactions. Insight into the costs and benefits of androgen exposure on spotted hyaena reproductive development, endocrinology and behaviour emphasises the delicate balance that sustains reproductive success, forces a re-evaluation of how we define masculine vs feminine sexual characteristics, and motivates reflection about the representative value of model species.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1530\/joe-20-0252","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,8,4]],"date-time":"2020-08-04T18:31:10Z","timestamp":1596565870000},"page":"R27-R44","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1530\/crossmarkpolicy-5","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":16,"title":["Spotted hyaenas and the sexual spectrum: reproductive endocrinology and development"],"prefix":"10.1530","volume":"247","author":[{"given":"Alan","family":"Conley","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"1Department of Population Health & Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ned J","family":"Place","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"2Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Erin L","family":"Legacki","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"1Department of Population Health & Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Geoff L","family":"Hammond","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"3Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gerald R","family":"Cunha","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"4Department of Urology, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Christine M","family":"Drea","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"5Departments of Evolutionary Anthropology and Biology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mary L","family":"Weldele","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"6Departments of Psychology and Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Steve E","family":"Glickman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"6Departments of Psychology and Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"416","container-title":["Journal of Endocrinology"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/joe.bioscientifica.com\/view\/journals\/joe\/247\/1\/JOE-20-0252.xml","content-type":"text\/html","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/joe.bioscientifica.com\/downloadpdf\/journals\/joe\/247\/1\/JOE-20-0252.xml","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,20]],"date-time":"2026-07-20T13:57:15Z","timestamp":1784555835000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"http:\/\/journals.bioscientifica.com\/joe\/article\/247\/1\/R27-R44\/5306"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2020,10]]},"references-count":0,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1"},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1530\/joe-20-0252","relation":{},"ISSN":["0022-0795","1479-6805"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0022-0795","type":"print"},{"value":"1479-6805","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2020,10]]}}}