On the origin and evolutionary diversification of beetle horns

Douglas J Emlen; Laura Corley Lavine; Ben Ewen-Campen

doi:10.1073/pnas.0701209104

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On the origin and evolutionary diversification of beetle horns

Journal article

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On the origin and evolutionary diversification of beetle horns

Douglas J Emlen, Laura Corley Lavine and Ben Ewen-Campen

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS, Vol.104(Suppl 1), pp.8661-8668

Colloquium Papers

05/15/2007

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0701209104

Handle:

https://hdl.handle.net/2376/108065

PMCID: PMC1876444

PMID: 17494751

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Abstract

Papers

allometry

development

phenotypic plasticity

weapons

sexual selection

Many scarab beetles produce rigid projections from the body called horns. The exaggerated sizes of these structures and the staggering diversity of their forms have impressed biologists for centuries. Recent comparative studies using DNA sequence-based phylogenies have begun to reconstruct the historical patterns of beetle horn evolution. At the same time, developmental genetic experiments have begun to elucidate how beetle horns grow and how horn growth is modulated in response to environmental variables, such as nutrition. We bring together these two perspectives to show that they converge on very similar conclusions regarding beetle evolution. Horns do not appear to be difficult structures to gain or lose, and they can diverge both dramatically and rapidly in form. Although much of this work is still preliminary, we use available information to propose a conceptual developmental model for the major trajectories of beetle horn evolution. We illustrate putative mechanisms underlying the evolutionary origin of horns and the evolution of horn location, shape, allometry, and dimorphism.

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Title: On the origin and evolutionary diversification of beetle horns
Creators: Douglas J Emlen - Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812; and
Laura Corley Lavine - Department of Entomology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164
Ben Ewen-Campen - Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812; and
Publication Details: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS, Vol.104(Suppl 1), pp.8661-8668
Series: Colloquium Papers
Publisher: National Academy of Sciences
Identifiers: 99900547084401842
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article