The evolution of autotomy in leaf-footed bugs
Sacrificing body parts is one of many behaviors that animals use to escape predation. This trait, termed autotomy, is classically associated with lizards. However, several other taxa also autotomize, and this trait has independently evolved multiple times throughout Animalia. Despite having multiple...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
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WILEY
2020
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/87415 |
| _version_ | 1848764914288558080 |
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| author | Emberts, Z. St. Mary, C.M. Howard, C.C. Forthman, M. Bateman, Bill Somjee, U. Hwang, W.S. Li, D. Kimball, R.T. Miller, C.W. |
| author_facet | Emberts, Z. St. Mary, C.M. Howard, C.C. Forthman, M. Bateman, Bill Somjee, U. Hwang, W.S. Li, D. Kimball, R.T. Miller, C.W. |
| author_sort | Emberts, Z. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Sacrificing body parts is one of many behaviors that animals use to escape predation. This trait, termed autotomy, is classically associated with lizards. However, several other taxa also autotomize, and this trait has independently evolved multiple times throughout Animalia. Despite having multiple origins and being an iconic antipredatory trait, much remains unknown about the evolution of autotomy. Here, we combine morphological, behavioral, and genomic data to investigate the evolution of autotomy within leaf-footed bugs and allies (Insecta: Hemiptera: Coreidae + Alydidae). We found that the ancestor of leaf-footed bugs autotomized and did so slowly; rapid autotomy (<2 min) then arose multiple times. The ancestor likely used slow autotomy to reduce the cost of injury or to escape nonpredatory entrapment but could not use autotomy to escape predation. This result suggests that autotomy to escape predation is a co-opted benefit (i.e., exaptation), revealing one way that sacrificing a limb to escape predation may arise. In addition to identifying the origins of rapid autotomy, we also show that across species variation in the rates of autotomy can be explained by body size, distance from the equator, and enlargement of the autotomizable appendage. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:26:55Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-87415 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:26:55Z |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| publisher | WILEY |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-874152022-01-28T05:20:42Z The evolution of autotomy in leaf-footed bugs Emberts, Z. St. Mary, C.M. Howard, C.C. Forthman, M. Bateman, Bill Somjee, U. Hwang, W.S. Li, D. Kimball, R.T. Miller, C.W. Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Ecology Evolutionary Biology Genetics & Heredity Environmental Sciences & Ecology Autotomy evolutionary ecology evolutionary origins latitudinal gradient phylogenetic comparative methods predator-prey DIVERGENCE-TIME-ESTIMATION LATITUDINAL GRADIENT PHYLLOMORPHA-LACINIATA CAUDAL-AUTOTOMY LIMB AUTOTOMY TAIL AUTOTOMY PARENTAL CARE PREDATION HEMIPTERA HETEROPTERA Sacrificing body parts is one of many behaviors that animals use to escape predation. This trait, termed autotomy, is classically associated with lizards. However, several other taxa also autotomize, and this trait has independently evolved multiple times throughout Animalia. Despite having multiple origins and being an iconic antipredatory trait, much remains unknown about the evolution of autotomy. Here, we combine morphological, behavioral, and genomic data to investigate the evolution of autotomy within leaf-footed bugs and allies (Insecta: Hemiptera: Coreidae + Alydidae). We found that the ancestor of leaf-footed bugs autotomized and did so slowly; rapid autotomy (<2 min) then arose multiple times. The ancestor likely used slow autotomy to reduce the cost of injury or to escape nonpredatory entrapment but could not use autotomy to escape predation. This result suggests that autotomy to escape predation is a co-opted benefit (i.e., exaptation), revealing one way that sacrificing a limb to escape predation may arise. In addition to identifying the origins of rapid autotomy, we also show that across species variation in the rates of autotomy can be explained by body size, distance from the equator, and enlargement of the autotomizable appendage. 2020 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/87415 10.1111/evo.13948 English http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ WILEY fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Ecology Evolutionary Biology Genetics & Heredity Environmental Sciences & Ecology Autotomy evolutionary ecology evolutionary origins latitudinal gradient phylogenetic comparative methods predator-prey DIVERGENCE-TIME-ESTIMATION LATITUDINAL GRADIENT PHYLLOMORPHA-LACINIATA CAUDAL-AUTOTOMY LIMB AUTOTOMY TAIL AUTOTOMY PARENTAL CARE PREDATION HEMIPTERA HETEROPTERA Emberts, Z. St. Mary, C.M. Howard, C.C. Forthman, M. Bateman, Bill Somjee, U. Hwang, W.S. Li, D. Kimball, R.T. Miller, C.W. The evolution of autotomy in leaf-footed bugs |
| title | The evolution of autotomy in leaf-footed bugs |
| title_full | The evolution of autotomy in leaf-footed bugs |
| title_fullStr | The evolution of autotomy in leaf-footed bugs |
| title_full_unstemmed | The evolution of autotomy in leaf-footed bugs |
| title_short | The evolution of autotomy in leaf-footed bugs |
| title_sort | evolution of autotomy in leaf-footed bugs |
| topic | Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Ecology Evolutionary Biology Genetics & Heredity Environmental Sciences & Ecology Autotomy evolutionary ecology evolutionary origins latitudinal gradient phylogenetic comparative methods predator-prey DIVERGENCE-TIME-ESTIMATION LATITUDINAL GRADIENT PHYLLOMORPHA-LACINIATA CAUDAL-AUTOTOMY LIMB AUTOTOMY TAIL AUTOTOMY PARENTAL CARE PREDATION HEMIPTERA HETEROPTERA |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/87415 |