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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 November 2017
The slaughter of male chickens at hatching in the egg industry constitutes a considerable financial loss. Although there is a close phylogenetic relationship with the chicken, the alligator displays the unique phenomena of temperature dependent sex determination i.e. the temperature of egg incubation determines the sex of the progeny (1). A comparison of chicken and alligator embryo metabolic data may thus suggest ways through which the sex determination operates and may be applied to the chicken. In the chicken and the alligator the lipids of the yolk perform a vital role as an essential nutrient and energy source to the developing embryo (2). As part of a wider research programme on temperature dependent sex determination, comparative data has been obtained on aspects of yolk lipid metabolism in the two species.