I think it could be tested w/o hundreds.



I think it would take several clutches - separate eggs from the same clutch into two groups, for each clutch.



Flip a coin to see which half of the clutch is incubated warm and which is incubated cool.



A few years of data should provide enough statistical certainty to make a more robust claim.



Also - it could be tried with something like pac gophers or bull snakes that are much more frequently bred and easier to obtain females for.



While demonstrating that, say, pac gophers are not TSD would not necessarily mean that ruthveni are not TSD, showing that pac gophers are TSD would add tremendous evidence towards ruthveni beiong TSD.



Some of the issues that need to be taken into consideration are the environmental conditions of the female. I believe in pits it is the female gamete that allegedly determines sex via GSD. Supposedly (memory, possibly faulty, of what my biology textbook said) when gametes are produced for diploid GSD species, you will get an equal ratio, but there may be influences that alter the ratio once produced before used for reproduction.



That's why it would be a good idea to split eggs from a clutch if possible, so that you don't end up by chance having biased females screw with your results.
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11.14 L. getula californiae (Cal. King)

2.3 L. getula nigrita (MBK)

1.0 L. getula floridana (Brooksi)

1.1 Pantherophis guttatus guttatus (Corn)

0.1 Pituophis catenifer catenifer (Pacific gopher)

0.1 Heterodon nasicus nasicus (W Hognose)

4.2.14 Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata - (Cal. Alligator Lizard)

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