Abstract
Previous studies have suggested that there is a strong relationship between a high degree of aggressive competition among males for access to fertile females and large body and canine size in males. It has further been suggested that such a relationship among living primates can be used to infer the social organization of extinct primate species from the degree of sexual dimorphism exhibited.
Our field studies of patas (Erythrocebus patas) and blue monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis), two species which had previously been characterized as having one-male ‘harem’ group structures, indicate considerable variability in mating systems. We suggest, on the basis of our observations of these species, that factors other than male-male competition (e.g., predation) may also have influenced the degree of dimorphism in primates.
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Rowell, T.E., Chism, J. Sexual dimorphism and mating systems: jumping to conclusions. Hum. Evol. 1, 215–219 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02436579
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02436579