- Joined
- Sep 20, 2009
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- 1,351
Ok, anyone have any information on whether there is a sex bias in tarantula slings? I've read 50:50, and 5:1 with a male bias. Now, if a male bias were to ever evolve in a group of animals, tarantulas would be the ones. Females have a longer lifespan, while males are generally only sexually mature for a single season. If in fact there was a 50:50 sex ratio in slings, mature males would occur in much smaller numbers than mature females. I know a male can breed with multiple females, but there are also many species in which a good insertion results in an eaten male. Plus, the much higher numbers of mature females due to their much longer lifespans would still outweigh the fact that a male can breed with multiple females. Now, for the most part, sex determination is completely random and a product of meiosis, but I do know of many instances in which this is not the case (many birds, species of deer). It is possible for mechanisms to evolve that skew the sex ratio.
Anyone have any links to papers/discussions/threads?
Anyone have any links to papers/discussions/threads?