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Secondary sex characteristic
Secondary sex characteristics
are features that appear at
sexual maturity
in animals and during
puberty
in
humans
, especially the
sexually dimorphic
phenotypic traits
that distinguish the two
sexes
of a species (
male
and
female
), but that, unlike the
sex organs
, are not directly part of the
reproductive system
. They are believed to be the product of
sexual selection
for traits which display
fitness
, giving an individual an advantage over its rivals in
courtship
and
aggressive
interactions. They are distinguished from the primary sex characteristics — the sex organs — which are directly necessary for
sexual reproduction
to occur.
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