Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
, Viale Venezia 45, Brescia, Italy.
Commun Biol. 2022 Aug 6;5(1):777. doi: 10.1038/s42003-022-03685-2.
Conglobation is an adaptive behaviour occurring independently in various animal groups. Here, we study the evolution of conglobation in Ceratocanthinae, a beetle group with the ability to roll three body segments into a tight ball. It is here implied that this ability evolved only once in the Mesozoic. Evidence is offered suggesting that the high defensive strength of Ceratocanthinae is due not only to the spherical body shape but also to the thickness and stronger mechanical properties of the dorsal cuticle. We further validate five adaptive characters including the allometrically thickened body wall and find that the specific adaptation of different body segments are likely separate evolutionary events. Finally, we propose an "attackers stress" hypothesis to explain the origin of conglobation behaviours. This work contributes to understanding how and why conglobation behaviour may have evolved in this group.
团缩是一种在各种动物群体中独立发生的适应性行为。在这里，我们研究了 Ceratocanthinae 甲虫组的团缩进化，该甲虫组有将三个体节卷成一个紧密球体的能力。这里暗示这种能力在中生代只进化了一次。有证据表明，Ceratocanthinae 的高防御强度不仅归因于球形的身体形状，还归因于背部表皮的厚度和更强的机械性能。我们进一步验证了包括身体壁按比例增厚在内的五个适应性特征，并发现不同体节的特定适应性可能是独立的进化事件。最后，我们提出了一个“攻击者压力”假说来解释团缩行为的起源。这项工作有助于理解团缩行为是如何以及为何在该群体中进化的。
