The sweeping headdress of a 400-million-year-old primate probably served for mating fights. He would thus be the oldest known evidence of such sex duels. Alan D. Gishlick and Richard A. Fortey came to this conclusion by discovering a special specimen of the trilobite Walliserops trifurcatus and comparing it with modern giant beetles. As the researchers write in the scientific journal "PNAS", the sprawling trident is not decisive for the survival of the animal; at the same time, it resembles the head outgrowths of beetles used for mating fights, which suggests a similar function.
Trilobites are reminiscent of basement, removed relatives of crabs, spiders and insects that were created in the sea, which were created more than 500 million years ago and died out 252 million years ago. In the course of their evolution they developed an immense variety of shapes, and Valaisops is one of the most bizarre representatives. He wears a kind of three -pointed spatula on his head shield, which is longer than the rest of the animal. The function of the continuation was speculated for a long time: it might be used to defend predators or had a function when you browse food.
New evidence is now provided by a special specimen of Walliserops, which is exhibited at the Houston Museum of Natural History. Instead of the normal pan-turning, trident-like appendage, this has an irregularly shaped four-pointed headdress, which was probably unsuitable for its normal function as a result. However, the primeval creature, related to insects and crayfish, nevertheless grew into a fully grown animal. The extension on the head could therefore not have fulfilled a vital function, the researchers argue.
A trident for mating struggles
His position also speaks against a defense weapon. The trilobit also has it: long curved thorns behind their heads actually shield the body upwards, from where an attack is most likely; But the trident doesn't do that. From the point of view of the two experts, the only remaining explanation for such a complex and extensive structure is that it fulfilled a function in reproduction. Many animals carry extensive jewelry, such as the tail springs of the Pfaus or expansive antlers - the latter are also used in mating struggles. That could also have happened with Trilobites.
To confirm this assumption, Fortey and Gishlick compared the spatula with similar structures in modern giant beetles. These also have complex horns and appendages on the head and use them in mating fights. According to the statistical analysis of the two researchers, the Walliserops turntables fit well into the variety of horns of giant beetles. This suggests that they had the same function – namely, dominance fights between males at the mating season.
The shape similar to a bulletman also indicates how these fights ran. Perhaps the fighting trilobites tried to throw their opponents on their backs with a skillful shoot. On the one hand, this would make the Valaisops Trifurcatus' bruises the oldest evidence of such mating struggles. On the other hand, it also suggests that genders differed significantly in Trilobites. The competitive partners of the extravagant decorated Valaisops-Männchen may hide behind another supposed "species".
