Journal article
Evolution of sexual conflict in scorpionflies
- Abstract:
- Sexual conflict – opposite reproductive/genetic interests between sexes – can be a significant driver of insect evolution. Scorpionflies (Insecta: Mecoptera) are models in sexual conflict research due to their large variety of mating practices, including coercive behaviour and nuptial gift provisioning. However, the role of palaeontology in sexual conflict studies remains negligible, namely due to the paucity of well-preserved fossils. Here, we describe three male scorpionflies from Cretaceous and Eocene ambers. The structure of notal and postnotal organs is analysed in extant and extinct forms; a depression below the base of the notal organ in different panorpid species spatially matches the anterior fold of the female’s wing. Based on disparate abdominal configurations and correlations in extant relatives, we posit that each new fossil taxon had a different mating approach along a nuptial gifting-coercive spectrum. The Eocene specimen possesses extreme female clamping abdominal armature, suggesting a degree of sexual coercion greater than in any other known scorpionfly, extinct or extant. The fossil record of abdominal modifications in male scorpionflies documents a relatively late evolution (Eocene) of long notal organs indicating oppressive behaviour toward a female during mating. Our findings reveal a wider array of mating-related morphological specialisations among extinct Panorpoidea, likely reflecting more diversified past mating strategies and behaviours in this group, and represent first steps towards gaining a deep-time perspective on the evolution of sexual conflict over mating among insects.
- Publication status:
- Published
- Peer review status:
- Peer reviewed
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(Preview, Version of record, pdf, 14.7MB, Terms of use)
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- Publisher copy:
- 10.7554/elife.70508
Authors
- Publisher:
- eLife Sciences Publications
- Journal:
- eLife More from this journal
- Volume:
- 11
- Article number:
- e70508
- Place of publication:
- England
- Publication date:
- 2022-04-05
- Acceptance date:
- 2022-02-10
- DOI:
- EISSN:
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2050-084X
- Pmid:
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35147080
- Language:
-
English
- Keywords:
- Pubs id:
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1239709
- Local pid:
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pubs:1239709
- Deposit date:
-
2022-04-05
- ARK identifier:
Terms of use
- Copyright holder:
- Soszyńska-Maj et al
- Copyright date:
- 2022
- Rights statement:
- © Soszyńska-Maj et al. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
- Licence:
- CC Attribution (CC BY)
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