Factor analyses of measures of copulatory behavior in three species of muroid rodents.

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Abstract
Data on the copulatory behavior of 312 laboratory rats [Rattus norvegicus] mating in 3 tests, 100 house mice [Mus musculus] mating in 3 tests, and 65 deer mice [Peromyscus maniculatus bairdi] mating in 2 tests were analyzed by correlational and factor analytic techniques. A substantial number of statistically significant intercorrelations among measures were found for each of the 3 spp. The 4 factors proposed by Sachs.sbd.initiation, copulatory rate, hit rate and intromission count.sbd.have considerable generality when tested across sample size, strain, repeated testing, number of ejaculatory series and species. An additional factor, intromission duration, emerged in the complex copulatory pattern of house mice.