Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Volume 273, Issue 1587, Pages 719-724Publisher
ROYAL SOC
DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2005.3367
Keywords
brain; neocortex; cognition; testes; Chiroptera; sexual selection
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The contribution of sexual selection to brain evolution has been little investigated. Through comparative analyses of bats, we show that multiple mating by males, in the absence of multiple mating by females, has no evolutionary impact on relative brain dimension. In contrast, bat species with promiscuous females have relatively smaller brains than do species with females exhibiting mate fidelity. This pattern may be a consequence of the demonstrated negative evolutionary relationship between investment in testes and investment in brains, both metabolically expensive tissues. These results have implications for understanding the correlated evolution of brains, behaviour and extravagant sexually selected traits.
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