Extreme male weapons evolved independently at least eleven times in vinegar flies

Evidence

The same insight helps explain extreme weapons in flies. The vinegar flies, or Drosophilidae, contain more than three thousand species, and the vast majority of them lack extravagant male weapons. However, at least eleven different times in the history of this group, males evolved extensions to their heads that functioned in fights with rival males. … Unlike other Drosophilid species, males with big weapons all displayed unusual levels of aggressive competition, guarded localized resources, and faced each other head-on in fights that were either described as “head butting” or “jousting.” — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 271

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Extreme weapons evolved independently across roughly three thousand species — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 15; The same three ingredients trigger weapon evolution across wildly divergent animal clades; Identical triggers drive extreme weapon evolution across wildly unrelated clades — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 277

Related

• Identical triggers drive extreme weapon evolution across wildly unrelated clades (similarity 0.87)
• The same three ingredients trigger weapon evolution across wildly divergent animal clades (similarity 0.86)
• Extreme weapons evolved independently across roughly three thousand species (similarity 0.84)
• Males evolve big weapons to defend resources that females visit (similarity 0.84)
• Dung beetles offer the ideal study system for extreme weapon evolution. (similarity 0.81)
• Competition for reproduction drives evolution of nature’s biggest weapons (similarity 0.80)
• Economic logic explains weapon evolution across virtually all animal species (similarity 0.80)
• Weapon size is favored when males defend resources females need (similarity 0.80)
• Variation in animal weapon size is explainable by species ecology and behavior. (similarity 0.80)
• Weaponized bee males cannot fly and usually die dispersing between nests (similarity 0.79)
• Animal weapons evolved to extremes far beyond practical size (similarity 0.79)
• Sexual selection can be far stronger than natural selection and drives weapon extremes (similarity 0.78)
• Weapon growth widens the gap between the best- and worst-armed males. (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Extreme weapons evolved independently across roughly three thousand species #expands (0.70) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 15
• The same three ingredients trigger weapon evolution across wildly divergent animal clades #corroborates (0.40)
• Identical triggers drive extreme weapon evolution across wildly unrelated clades #corroborates (0.40) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 277