Schmidt, Christine and Heinze, Juergen (2018) Mandible morphology reflects the type of male antagonism in the ant genus Cardiocondyla (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ENTOMOLOGY, 115. pp. 455-466. ISSN , 1802-8829
Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)Abstract
The ant genus Cardiocondyla is characterized by wingless, ergatoid males, which in some species replace the typical winged male. Depending on species, ergatoid males engage in lethal fighting for access to sexual females, establish territories within their nests, or are mutually tolerant. Here we investigate, whether the morphology of ergatoid males and in particular the shape of their mandibles reflect phylogeny or male behaviour. In contrast to the worker mandible, which is relatively similar in shape in the ten species examined, mandibles of ergatoid males show a great variation in size and shape not only between the two clades of Cardiocondyla but also among species belonging to Cardiocondyla Glade A. This diversity appears to reflect the diverse reproductive tactics of ergatoid males of different species, with extremely long, anteriorly oriented mandibles associated with indirect killing of adult competitors, while particularly short mandibles possibly constitute an adaptation to a tactic in which ergatoid males crush the cuticle of young rivals.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | LIFE-HISTORY CONTINUUM; COMPETITION; EVOLUTION; MANIPULATION; WROUGHTONII; HYPOTHESIS; WORKERS; TRAITS; KILL; Hymenoptera; Formicidae; Cardiocondyla; ergatoid males; morphology; mandibles; male antagonism |
| Subjects: | 500 Science > 590 Zoological sciences |
| Divisions: | Biology, Preclinical Medicine > Institut für Zoologie > Zoologie/Evolutionsbiologie (Prof. Dr. Jürgen Heinze) |
| Depositing User: | Dr. Gernot Deinzer |
| Date Deposited: | 23 Mar 2020 14:29 |
| Last Modified: | 23 Mar 2020 14:29 |
| URI: | https://pred.uni-regensburg.de/id/eprint/15311 |
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