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- Title
Allometry of reaching and contact structures in Kukulcania hibernalis (Araneae: Filistatidae).
- Authors
Barrantes, Gilbert; Madrigal‐Brenes, Ruth
- Abstract
Large part of the morphological diversity observed across taxa is attributed to the effect of sexual selection; and the static allometry of these structures vary largely from highly positive to negative, depending on their function, and position on the animal's body. In arthropods, information of how sexually selected contact and reaching male structures use during courtship scale on body size is scarce. We tested two complementary hypotheses: the reaching structure hypothesis and the contact‐function hypothesis, in the spider Kukulcania hibernalis. We used the length of the proximal segments of the male pedipalp to test the reaching structure hypothesis, and claw features to test the contact‐function hypothesis. Our results support both hypotheses. Small males have disproportionally longer pedipalps (highly negative allometry) than large males, increasing the probability of small‐bodied males to inseminate even large females. We also found that both distal contact and noncontact homologous structures scaled shallow (slope < 1) on body size, but allometry was significantly shallower for contact than for noncontact distal structures, providing support to the contact‐function hypothesis, and allowing teasing apart the effect of sexual selection on distal contact structures with dual functions. HIGHLIGHTS: We tested the effect of sexual selection on reaching and distal contact devices.Small males have disproportionally longer pedipalps to reach the copulatory opening of females.We teased apart the effect of a dual function effect on a distal contact device.
- Subjects
ALLOMETRY; SPIDERS; JUMPING spiders; BODY size
- Publication
Evolution & Development, 2019, Vol 21, Issue 6, p311
- ISSN
1520-541X
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/ede.12318