Divergent male and female mate preferences do not explain incipient speciation between lizard lineages.

Diversification in sexual signals is often taken as evidence for the importance of sexual selection in speciation. However, in order for sexual selection to generate reproductive isolation between populations, both signals and mate preferences must diverge together. Furthermore, assortative mating may result from multiple behavioral mechanisms, including female mate preferences, male mate preferences, and male-male competition; yet their relative contributions are rarely evaluated.