Sexual Cannibalism, Size Dimorphism, and Courtship Behavior in Orb-Weaving Spiders (Araneidae)

Evolution ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. Elgar
Keyword(s):  
Courtship Behavior ◽  
Sexual Cannibalism ◽  
Size Dimorphism

Mate choice and sexual size dimorphism, not personality, explain female aggression and sexual cannibalism in raft spiders

2016 ◽  
Vol 111 ◽  
pp. 49-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simona Kralj-Fišer ◽  
Klemen Čandek ◽  
Tjaša Lokovšek ◽  
Tatjana Čelik ◽  
Ren-Chung Cheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Sexual Size Dimorphism ◽  
Female Aggression ◽  
Sexual Cannibalism ◽  
Size Dimorphism

Sexual Size Dimorphism: Evolution and Perils of Extreme Phenotypes in Spiders

2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matjaž Kuntner ◽  
Jonathan A. Coddington
Keyword(s):  
Equilibrium Model ◽  
Sexual Size Dimorphism ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Sexual Cannibalism ◽  
Size Dimorphism ◽  
Terminal Investment ◽  
Dead End ◽  
Extreme Phenotypes ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
Female Gigantism

Sexual size dimorphism is one of the most striking animal traits, and among terrestrial animals, it is most extreme in certain spider lineages. The most extreme sexual size dimorphism (eSSD) is female biased. eSSD itself is probably an epiphenomenon of gendered evolutionary drivers whose strengths and directions are diverse. We demonstrate that eSSD spider clades are aberrant by sampling randomly across all spiders to establish overall averages for female (6.9 mm) and male (5.6 mm) size. At least 16 spider eSSD clades exist. We explore why the literature does not converge on an overall explanation for eSSD and propose an equilibrium model featuring clade- and context-specific drivers of gender size variation. eSSD affects other traits such as sexual cannibalism, genital damage, emasculation, and monogyny with terminal investment. Coevolution with these extreme sexual phenotypes is termed eSSD mating syndrome. Finally, as costs of female gigantism increase with size, eSSD may represent an evolutionary dead end.

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