Cephalo-pelvic covariation and sexual dimorphism are disrupted in hybrid mice: implications for the human obstetrical dilemma

Abstract

Cephalo-pelvic disproportion in humans has traditionally been interpreted through the obstetrical dilemma framework, assuming a trade-off between bipedal locomotion and childbirth. However, cephalo-pelvic covariation and pelvic sexual dimorphism might be common adaptations to parturition among mammals. We use a controlled hybridization model in mice to test whether cephalo-pelvic covariation and pelvic sexual dimorphism are population-specific, genetically structured, and sensitive to hybridization. We analyzed skull-pelvis variation and covariation, as well as sexual dimorphism of pelvic morphology across four divergent wild-derived mouse strains and their hybrids. Hybridization induced consistent cranial and pelvic size enlargement. Females exhibited significant cephalo-pelvic shape covariation, characterized by an association between rounder, wider birth canals and larger neurocrania, consistent with functional integration under obstetric selection. Hybrids showed disrupted size covariation, increased pelvis shape variance, and reduced cephalo-pelvic integration. Pelvic sexual dimorphism was systematically reduced in hybrids. Cephalo-pelvic covariation and pelvic sexual dimorphism are not exclusive to bipedal or encephalized species. They likely reflect widespread selection on birth canal morphology in mammals and have a complex genetic basis sensitive to hybridization. These findings weaken a human-exclusive interpretation of the obstetrical dilemma and highlight genetic introgression as an understudied factor shaping cephalo-pelvic integration and disproportion risk in mammals, including humans.