Indirect Evidence on Sex Reversal with Sex Ratio of Tegillarca granosa (Bivalvia: Arcidae) andRuditapes philippinarum (Bivalvia: Veneridae)

This study attempts to propose the possibility of the sex reversal in Tegillarca granosa and Ruditapes philippinarum by confirming the changes in the sex ratio with the shell length (SL) in the same population level. For analysis of sex ratio with SL, 1500 individuals of T. granosa (SL 10.1-45.0 mm) and 712 individuals of R. philippinarum (SL 15.1-70.0 mm) were used. Sex was analyzed histologically. The average sex ratios (F:M) of T. granosa and R. philippinarum were 1:1.22 and 1:0.96, respectively. However, sex ratio was found to differ when the clams were divided into groups according to SL in 5.0 mm intervals. Both species displayed the tendency of increase in the proportion of female with increase in SL. In this study, changes in the sex ratio in accordance with the growth of T. granosa and R. philippinarum are determined to be indirect evidence that signifies their sex reversal.