Although it has been known for over 50 years that environmental factors, such as temperature, can influence the sex of developing embryos in certain species, the genetic mechanisms by which this occurs has remained a mystery. We use an emerging model organism, the central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps), which has genetic sex determination with thermal override, to study the mechanisms responsible for sensing temperature and transducing a developmental outcome. In our research, we have implicated highly conserved cellular sensing mechanisms in sex reversal, and have identified a suite of key genes responsible for sex reversal in P. vitticeps. Most compelling of all is that these genes have similar roles in a wide range of highly divergent species, including humans. We present the latest work on sex reversal in P. vitticeps, with the most current understanding of the mechanisms by which an environmental cue is sensed and transduced in the cell. We show that sex reversal during embryonic development is driven by temperature dependent splicing of chromatin remodelling genes jarid2 and kdm6b, and the dominance of a thermally stable cirbp isoform. In an functional organ culture experiment, we examined the role of CLK4 in regulating the splicing of these genes. Taken together, this research provides the most complete picture of a environmentally sensitive sex determination pathway to date, and opens up many compelling avenues for future research.