Extreme adaptations for probable visual courtship behaviour in a Cretaceous dancing damselfly

doi:10.1038/srep44932

	Extreme adaptations for probable visual courtship behaviour in a Cretaceous dancing damselfly
	Zheng, DR （郑大燃); Nel, A; Jarzembowski, EA; Chang, SC; Zhang, HC (张海春); Xia, FY; Liu, HY; Wang, B (王博)
	2017
发表期刊	Scientific Reports
ISSN	2045-2322
卷号	7 页码:44932 1-8页
摘要	Courtship behaviours, frequent among modern insects, have left extremely rare fossil traces. None are known previously for fossil odonatans. Fossil traces of such behaviours are better known among the vertebrates, e.g. the hypertelic antlers of the Pleistocene giant deer Megaloceros giganteus. Here we describe spectacular extremely expanded, pod-like tibiae in males of a platycnemidid damselfly from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Such structures in modern damselflies, help to fend off other suitors as well as attract mating females, increasing the chances of successful mating. Modern Platycnemidinae and Chlorocyphidae convergently acquired similar but less developed structures. The new findings provide suggestive evidence of damselfly courtship behaviour as far back as the mid-Cretaceous. These data show an unexpected morphological disparity in dancing damselfly leg structure, and shed new light on mechanisms of sexual selection involving intra- and intersex reproductive competition during the Cretaceous.
DOI	10.1038/srep44932
收录类别	SCI
语种	英语
WOS研究方向	Science & Technology - Other Topics
WOS类目	Multidisciplinary Sciences
WOS记录号	WOS:000396672000001
出版者	NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
文献类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://ir.nigpas.ac.cn/handle/332004/13679
专题	中国科学院南京地质古生物研究所其他
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Zheng, DR ,Nel, A,Jarzembowski, EA,et al. Extreme adaptations for probable visual courtship behaviour in a Cretaceous dancing damselfly[J]. Scientific Reports,2017,7:44932 1-8页.
APA	Zheng, DR .,Nel, A.,Jarzembowski, EA.,Chang, SC.,Zhang, HC .,...&Wang, B .(2017).Extreme adaptations for probable visual courtship behaviour in a Cretaceous dancing damselfly.Scientific Reports,7,44932 1-8页.
MLA	Zheng, DR ,et al."Extreme adaptations for probable visual courtship behaviour in a Cretaceous dancing damselfly".Scientific Reports 7(2017):44932 1-8页.