Intraspecific male combat behaviour predicts morphology of cervical vertebrae in ruminant mammals.

ABSTRACT: Cranial weapons of all shapes and sizes are common throughout the animal kingdom and are frequently accompanied by the evolution of additional traits that enhance the use of those weapons. Bovids (cattle, sheep, goats, antelope) and cervids (deer) within the mammal clade Ruminantia are particularly well known for their distinct and varied cranial appendages in the form of horns and antlers, which are used as weapons in intraspecific combat between males for access to mates. Combat in these species takes many forms, including head-on collisions (ramming); stabbing an opponent's head or body with horn tips (stabbing); rearing and clashing downwards with horns (fencing); or interlocking antlers or horns while vigorously pushing and twisting (wrestling). Some aspects of weapon and skull morpho

SUBMITTER: Vander Linden A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6892039 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature