Sexual cannibalism

Uncommon card · No. 124581

Sexual cannibalism is when an animal, usually the female, cannibalizes its mate prior to, during, or after copulation. This trait is observed in many arachnid orders, carnivorous insects, several crustacean clades, gastropods, and some snake species. Several hypotheses to explain this seemingly paradoxical behavior have been proposed, including the adaptive foraging hypothesis, aggressive spillover hypothesis and mistaken identity hypothesis. This behavior is believed to have evolved as a manifestation of sexual conflict, occurring when the reproductive interests of males and females differ. In many species that exhibit sexual cannibalism, the female consumes the male upon detection. Females of cannibalistic species are generally hostile and unwilling to mate; thus many males of these species have developed adaptive behaviors to counteract female aggression.

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