Allometry in the giant tropical ant, Paraponera clavata |
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Authors: | MD Breed |
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Institution: | Department of Environmental, Population, and Organismic Biology, The University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0334, USA, e-mail: michael.breed@spot.colorado.edu, US
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Abstract: | Summary: Workers of the ponerine ant, Paraponera clavata, grow allometrically, with the head disproportionately larger in larger workers. The anterior (clypeus)-posterior (occiput) dimension of the head capsule is allometric with the lateral (interocular) dimension, so that larger workers have elongate heads. The degree of head capsule allometry varies among colonies; this could result either from differences in colony maturity or from variation in developmental patterns among colonies. These data resolve a previously controversial issue concerning caste in Paraponera clavata. |
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