Sexual selection by cryptic female choice and the evolution of primate sexuality

In those animals where females mate with multiple partners, selection might favor males with small advantageous features of genital morphology, biochemical makeup of accessory sexual glandular secretions, or patterns of copulatory behavior. Because anatomical and physiological qualities of the female reproductive tract may favor such advantageous masculine features, the term "cryptic female choice" refers to this feminine mechanism of sexual selection at the copulatory and postcopulatory levels. Much evidence pertaining to cryptic female choice derives from research on insects and other groups of invertebrates. The purpose of this brief review is to examine some examples of how cryptic female choice may have influenced genital evolution in primates.