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On the discovery of a male morph with a novelty alternative mating tactic in the neotropical cricket Macroanaxipha macilenta Orthoptera: Gryllidae)

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Abstract

Several animal taxa exhibit discrete male phenotypes, which are related to alternative mating tactics. In this study, we describe a new male phenotype and mating behavior of the cricket species Macroanaxipha macilenta. The most common male phenotype shows male-biased sexual size dimorphism, with wider forewings than those of the new male phenotype. Wide-forewing males produce longer and louder calling songs than narrow-forewing males, and after attracting a female, the wide-forewing male transfers a spermatophore during a 21-s copulation. On the other hand, narrow-forewing males occur at a low frequency in the population (< 20%), produce short whisper calls, and copulate twice with the female. In each copulation, the narrow-forewing male transfers one spermatophore. The first one is removed and eaten by the female shortly after copulation. Then, if the female stays near the male, they copulate again, and a second spermatophore is transferred to the females’ genitalia. Mating duration in narrow-forewing males can last up to 12 min. Both male morphs may represent alternative mating tactics.

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Acknowledgements

We thank M. A. Serrano-Meneses for his comments and valuable suggestions on an earlier version of the manuscript. Valuable suggestions on the manuscript also were made by the editor, Judith X. Ponce-Wainer, David N. Fisher and two anonymous reviewers. Anahi Elias-Quevedo acknowledges the Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), and CONACyT for providing her with a scholarship to further her MSc studies (no. 385462).

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  1. Laboratorio de Ecología, FES Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UBIPRO, A.P. 314, 54090, Tlalnepantla, Mexico, Mexico

    Anahi Elias-Quevedo & Raúl Cueva del Castillo

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  1. Anahi Elias-Quevedo
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  2. Raúl Cueva del Castillo
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Correspondence to Raúl Cueva del Castillo.

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Elias-Quevedo, A., Cueva del Castillo, R. On the discovery of a male morph with a novelty alternative mating tactic in the neotropical cricket Macroanaxipha macilenta Orthoptera: Gryllidae). J Ethol 38, 3–11 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10164-019-00614-5

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