* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Saturday, June 7, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Entertainment lineup released for 2025 Mississippi State Fair – WAPT

    Exciting Entertainment Lineup Unveiled for the 2025 Mississippi State Fair!

    After Denzel Washington Said He Would Be In Black Panther 3, Ryan Coogler Explained Why He’s ‘Fine’ With That Information Being Revealed So Early – Yahoo

    Ryan Coogler Shares Why He’s Cool with Denzel Washington’s Black Panther 3 Reveal!

    Traveling Tacos and Tequila Festival to stop at Florence Yall’s stadium this October – Cincinnati Enquirer

    Get Ready for a Flavor Fiesta: Traveling Tacos and Tequila Festival Hits Florence Y’all’s Stadium This October!

    9 things to do this weekend in Lake County plus a look ahead – Leesburg Daily Commercial

    Discover 9 Exciting Weekend Adventures in Lake County and What’s Coming Up!

    Shows to Watch – The Advocate

    Must-See Shows You Can’t Miss!

    Fox News Entertainment Newsletter: Celebrities mentioned during Diddy’s high-profile sex trafficking trial – Fox News

    Fox News Entertainment Newsletter: Celebrities mentioned during Diddy’s high-profile sex trafficking trial – Fox News

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Fire Tech Brief: 5 Fire Apparatus Technology Upgrades – firehouse.com

    Revving Up Safety: 5 Innovative Upgrades for Fire Apparatus Technology

    U.S. FDA Grants Platform Technology Designation to the Viral Vector Used in SRP-9003, Sarepta’s Investigational Gene Therapy for the Treatment of Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy Type 2E/R4 – Sarepta Therapeutics

    Breakthrough for Gene Therapy: FDA Designates Viral Vector in Sarepta’s SRP-9003 for Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy Treatment

    Waunakee Fifth-Graders Dive into the Future at Exciting Tech Day!

    Property Technology Magazine Unveils “PropTech Top 50 Index” and the “2025 PropTech Trends Report – The Great Rebuild.” – Business Wire

    Property Technology Magazine Unveils “PropTech Top 50 Index” and the “2025 PropTech Trends Report – The Great Rebuild.” – Business Wire

    Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says – MarketBeat

    UBS Analyst Predicts Surge in Micron Technology Stock Price!

    Domo to Participate in the D.A. Davidson Technology Summit – Business Wire

    Domo Set to Shine at the D.A. Davidson Technology Summit!

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Entertainment lineup released for 2025 Mississippi State Fair – WAPT

    Exciting Entertainment Lineup Unveiled for the 2025 Mississippi State Fair!

    After Denzel Washington Said He Would Be In Black Panther 3, Ryan Coogler Explained Why He’s ‘Fine’ With That Information Being Revealed So Early – Yahoo

    Ryan Coogler Shares Why He’s Cool with Denzel Washington’s Black Panther 3 Reveal!

    Traveling Tacos and Tequila Festival to stop at Florence Yall’s stadium this October – Cincinnati Enquirer

    Get Ready for a Flavor Fiesta: Traveling Tacos and Tequila Festival Hits Florence Y’all’s Stadium This October!

    9 things to do this weekend in Lake County plus a look ahead – Leesburg Daily Commercial

    Discover 9 Exciting Weekend Adventures in Lake County and What’s Coming Up!

    Shows to Watch – The Advocate

    Must-See Shows You Can’t Miss!

    Fox News Entertainment Newsletter: Celebrities mentioned during Diddy’s high-profile sex trafficking trial – Fox News

    Fox News Entertainment Newsletter: Celebrities mentioned during Diddy’s high-profile sex trafficking trial – Fox News

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Fire Tech Brief: 5 Fire Apparatus Technology Upgrades – firehouse.com

    Revving Up Safety: 5 Innovative Upgrades for Fire Apparatus Technology

    U.S. FDA Grants Platform Technology Designation to the Viral Vector Used in SRP-9003, Sarepta’s Investigational Gene Therapy for the Treatment of Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy Type 2E/R4 – Sarepta Therapeutics

    Breakthrough for Gene Therapy: FDA Designates Viral Vector in Sarepta’s SRP-9003 for Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy Treatment

    Waunakee Fifth-Graders Dive into the Future at Exciting Tech Day!

    Property Technology Magazine Unveils “PropTech Top 50 Index” and the “2025 PropTech Trends Report – The Great Rebuild.” – Business Wire

    Property Technology Magazine Unveils “PropTech Top 50 Index” and the “2025 PropTech Trends Report – The Great Rebuild.” – Business Wire

    Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says – MarketBeat

    UBS Analyst Predicts Surge in Micron Technology Stock Price!

    Domo to Participate in the D.A. Davidson Technology Summit – Business Wire

    Domo Set to Shine at the D.A. Davidson Technology Summit!

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Science

Sorry, Darwin: Most male mammals aren’t bigger than females

March 12, 2024
in Science
Sorry, Darwin: Most male mammals aren’t bigger than females
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The idea that most biologically male members of a species are physically larger than the females goes back to Charles Darwin’s 1871 book The Descent of Man. While this is typically true for some species including gorillas, buffalo, and elephants, it is not necessarily a one size fits all fact. 

A study published March 12 in the journal Nature Communications found that the males in most mammalian species are not bigger than the females. Monomorphism–or both sexes being roughly the same size–is very common and females can be larger in some cases. The authors suggest that biases in scientific literature from over more than a century and a focus on more charismatic species like primates and carnivores has likely led to this misconception.

A persistent narrative

For some mammals, physical differences in size do vary depending on competition for mates and the differences in how mothers and fathers invest time and energy in their offspring. Male lions and baboons typically engage in physical competition for mates and the males are larger than the females. It has been assumed that sexual dimorphism–where the sexes differ in size–is most common in animals. Additionally, the idea that males of a species are always larger, which is the case in lions, applies to most species has also stuck around for decades.

“That’s how Darwin laid out the scene,” study co-author and evolutionary biologist Kaia Tomback tells PopSci. “And it’s very Victorian Era thinking about gender roles.”

[Related: A new evolutionary theory could explain the mystery of shrinking animals.]

During the 1970’s, a mammalogist and conservation biologist named Katherine Ralls was among the first to take a real scientific look at this narrative and push back against this idea that most male mammals are larger. Ralls found evidence that most mammals do not have an extreme dimorphism. More typically, the female members of the species are the same size as the males. Larger females are surprisingly common in nature. According to Tombak, Ralls has also been commonly misquoted as supporting the larger male narrative.

“Science is always changing, so it’s possible that the story will change,” says Tombak, who is currently a postdoctoral researcher at Purdue University. “But [the idea] has been a misconception in the sense that it’s this scientific narrative with very weak evidence.”

From bats to lemurs to elephant seals

In this new study, Tombak and her colleagues went through available scientific literature and compared the male and female body masses of 429 animal species in the wild. In the majority of cases, they found that the males are not larger than the females. In many species, including lemurs, golden moles, horses, zebra, and tenrec, both sexes are the same size.

A male and female plains zebra interacting in Kenya. Males and females are the same size in this species. CREDIT: Severine B.S.W. Hex

Some species did show significantly larger males, including the northern elephant seal. This is what Tombak calls a “famously dimorphic” species, with male northern elephant seals weighing in at about three times larger than females.

On the other end of the spectrum is the peninsular tube-nosed bat. Females are about 40 percent larger than the males. 

“If you want to talk about most mammals, most mammals are rodents and bats, by far,” says Tombak. “Just almost half of bats have larger females. Some hypotheses suggest that for female [bats], it’s better to be bigger so that they can fly carrying fetuses and offspring more easily. Others have said that for males competing for mates, maybe agility matters more in fighting than size.”

a yellow-winged bat hangs froma. ceilingA yellow-winged bat in Kenya. Almost half of bats have larger females than males. CREDIT: Severine Hex

A more complicated reproductive story

While the study did not sample all mammalian species, the team did identify trends that made sense given when a lot of these earlier studies were conducted. They believe that the reason for this persistent larger male narrative is related to more studies focusing on charismatic keystone species like primates and seals who have larger bodied males that compete with each other for mates. 

[Related: These female hummingbirds don flashy male feathers to avoid unwanted harassment.]

“As we read through the literature, there was just so much cool biology that we got into,” says Tombak. “I think what the study brings about is that there’s probably way more to reproductive strategies. A diversity of strategies is probably more common than just the males fighting physically for females.”

One example includes the topi, a type of antelope where females have been documented fighting each other for access to mates. Challenging this belief has met resistance and has been understudied, as it goes against the ideas of a seminal figure like Darwin.

“The story is really one of like the other side of the story of having been ignored for a long time,” says Tombak. “In terms of the science, I think it’s important because there’s just so much focus on the male perspective, male mating competition, and sexual selection theory.”

Tombak and her co-authors recommend more research on female biology across species to create a more realistic view of animal size and sex selection and are working on follow-up papers. The authors also caution that findings in this study could change, as more robust data on mammal body sizes is gathered in the future.

Laura Baisas

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : Popular Science – https://www.popsci.com/environment/male-female-mammal-size/

Tags: ‘sorry’Darwinscience
Previous Post

Alleged Budget Padding: Rowdy Session as Senate Suspends Ningi for three months

Next Post

Why Ski-Doo is the only snowmobile permitted in Yellowstone

Drought expanded to 19 more watersheds – Washington State Department of Ecology (.gov)

Severe Drought Worsens: 19 Additional Watersheds Affected!

June 7, 2025
CULT Food Science Closes Debt Settlement – TradingView

CULT Food Science Closes Debt Settlement – TradingView

June 7, 2025
Harmony Public Schools’ science-focused campus to open soon at City Place – Community Impact

Harmony Public Schools’ science-focused campus to open soon at City Place – Community Impact

June 7, 2025
Ladies Lifestyle Network cuts ribbon – haysfreepress.com

Ladies Lifestyle Network cuts ribbon – haysfreepress.com

June 7, 2025
Watch fans celebrate as Uzbekistan secures debut World Cup qualification – CNN

Watch fans celebrate as Uzbekistan secures debut World Cup qualification – CNN

June 7, 2025
Dollar advances against peers after strong US economic data – Reuters

Dollar advances against peers after strong US economic data – Reuters

June 7, 2025
Entertainment lineup released for 2025 Mississippi State Fair – WAPT

Exciting Entertainment Lineup Unveiled for the 2025 Mississippi State Fair!

June 7, 2025
Water-cleaning bacteria can produce health, economic benefits – ASU News

Revolutionary Water-Cleaning Bacteria: Unlocking Health and Economic Benefits!

June 7, 2025
The end of the affair? – The Economist

Is This the Final Chapter of Their Love Story

June 7, 2025
Fire Tech Brief: 5 Fire Apparatus Technology Upgrades – firehouse.com

Revving Up Safety: 5 Innovative Upgrades for Fire Apparatus Technology

June 7, 2025

Categories

Archives

June 2025
MTWTFSS
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30 
« May    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (673)
  • Economy (687)
  • Entertainment (21,593)
  • General (15,267)
  • Health (9,728)
  • Lifestyle (690)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (688)
  • Politics (694)
  • Science (15,905)
  • Sports (21,190)
  • Technology (15,672)
  • World (672)

Recent News

Drought expanded to 19 more watersheds – Washington State Department of Ecology (.gov)

Severe Drought Worsens: 19 Additional Watersheds Affected!

June 7, 2025
CULT Food Science Closes Debt Settlement – TradingView

CULT Food Science Closes Debt Settlement – TradingView

June 7, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version