Brief Communications
Nature 433, 375-376 (27 January 2005) | doi:10.1038/433375a; Published online 26 January 2005
Sexual behaviour: Rapid speciation in an arthropod
Tamra C. Mendelson1,2 & Kerry L. Shaw1
Theory predicts that sexual behaviour in animals can evolve rapidly, accelerating the rate of species formation1, 2. Here we estimate the rate of speciation in Laupala, a group of forest-dwelling Hawaiian crickets that is characterized primarily through differences in male courtship song3. We find that Laupala has the highest rate of speciation so far recorded in arthropods, supporting the idea that divergence in courtship or sexual behaviour drives rapid speciation in animals.
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
- Present address: Department of Biological Sciences, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015, USA
Correspondence to: Tamra C. Mendelson1,2 Email: tamram@lehigh.edu
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