Closely related beetle species can differ sharply in horn possession
Evidence
What is most remarkable is the diversity of horns that they produce and, in this genus, even closely related species can differ so that one species has horns and the other does not. — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 193
Categorization
- QUESTION: What ecological or social difference flips closely related species between having and lacking horns? Worth chasing in the next chapter.
- XREF: connects to: Dung beetle horns evolved and were lost repeatedly across their history; Sibling-like habitat specialization lets closely related species coexist in one genus — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural…, 145
Related
- Dung beetle horns evolved and were lost repeatedly across their history (similarity 0.86)
- No ball-rolling dung beetle species has evolved horns despite constant fighting (similarity 0.82)
- Beetle horn presence depends on post-arrival behavior, not the dung itself (similarity 0.81)
- Beetle horns can reach 30 percent of male body weight (similarity 0.79)
- Tunneling dung beetles guard burrow entrances and evolve horns; rollers do not (similarity 0.78)
- Tunneling behavior predicts horn evolution in dung beetles (similarity 0.78)