Male tawny dragons use throat patterns to recognize rivals

Louise Osborne, Kate D. L. Umbers, Patricia R. Y. Backwell, J. Scott Keogh

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The ability to distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar conspecifics is important for many animals, especially territorial species since it allows them to avoid unnecessary interactions with individuals that pose little threat. There are very few studies, however, that identify the proximate cues that facilitate such recognition in visual systems. Here, we show that in tawny dragons (Ctenophorus decresii), males can recognize familiar and unfamiliar conspecific males based on morphological features alone, without the aid of chemical or behavioural cues. We further show that it is the colour pattern of the throat patches (gular) that facilitates this recognition.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)869-872
Number of pages4
JournalNaturwissenschaften
Volume99
Issue number10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2012

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