The coevolution of mammae number and litter size
Stewart, T. A.; Yoo, I.; Upham, N. S.
Show abstract
Mammals are unique in provisioning their offspring with milk, lactiferous nourishment produced in glandular organs called mammae. Mammae number is hypothesized to coevolve with litter size, acting as a constraint on offspring survival. However, predicted canonical relations between mammae number and litter size (i.e., the one-half and identity rules) are untested across Mammalia. Here we analyze data for 2,301 species and show how these characters coevolve. In Mammalia, mammae number approximates the maximum reported litter size of a species, and mammae number explains more variation in litter size than other species-level traits (mass, gestation length, diet, and seasonality of contemporary geographic distribution). Clades show differences in these patterns, indicating that certain life history strategies might break the rules of mammary evolution. Mammae number is an underappreciated constraint on fecundity that has influenced the radiation of mammals.
Matching journals
The top 3 journals account for 50% of the predicted probability mass.
Similar papers in this journal
Similar papers in this journal
- The preeminent role of directional selection in generating extreme morphological change in Glyptodonts (Cingulata; Xenarthra) 95%
- Social and spatial drivers of the multitiered structure of zebra finch social networks 94%
- Ancestral complexity and constrained diversification of the ant olfactory system 93%
Similar papers in this journal
"Similar papers" are the closest papers from that journal in the model's embedding space. They show what the match is built on, but the ranking comes mostly from a classifier over the whole training set, not from these examples alone.