Publications by authors named "Callum J McLean"
Article Synopsis
- The relationship between the form and function of Amblypygi (whip spiders) is essential for understanding the evolution of their unique traits, particularly their elongated spined pedipalps used for hunting and social interactions.
- Recent research utilized high-speed videography to analyze how different species of Amblypygi capture prey, revealing significant variations in their kinematics and joint angles during this process.
- Findings indicated that longer pedipalps do not proportionally enhance reach as expected, prompting a consideration of additional factors like sexual selection and social competition that might influence the evolution of pedipalp length, leading to a trade-off between hunting efficiency and other behaviors.
Sexual differences in size and shape are common across the animal kingdom. The study of sexual dimorphism (SD) can provide insight into the sexual- and natural-selection pressures experienced by males and females in different species. Arachnids are diverse, comprising over 100,000 species, and exhibit some of the more extreme forms of SD in the animal kingdom, with the males and females of some species differing dramatically in body shape and/or size.
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