Allometry and Fighting Behaviour of a Dimorphic Stag Beetle Cyclommatus mniszechi (Coleoptera: Lucanidae).

ABSTRACT: Male stag beetles (Coleoptera: Lucanidae) use their mandibles as weapons to compete for resources and reproduction. Mandible size in stag beetles can be associated with different behaviours and the outcome of male contests. We investigated the allometric relationship between mandible and body size in males of the stag beetle Cyclommatus mniszechi to uncover distinct morphs. The results divided male C. mniszechi into majors and minors with the switch point of mandible length at 14.01 mm. The allometric slope of mandibles was positive for both morphs but was steeper for the minors. We also characterised the fighting behaviour of the different morphs in size-matched contests using sequential analyses. Males matched each other's behaviour in contests with many physical contacts, no injury and

SUBMITTER: Chen ZY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7074643 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature